WOMAN

S E CR ET PA S S IO N S .

C ONTAI N IN G AN E X A CT D E SCRIP TION OF

TH
.

E FE M A LE O RGAN S O F GE N E RAT IO N

US E S A N D A B U S E S .

T o ge ther w i th a d e t ail ed acco un t of the

D

C A U S E S A N D T HE C U R E
fi

T HE S O LIT A R Y VI O E
, .

BY RO B E RT T
'

W "E LY M
A ,
. D .
, FO S. . .

NEW YO R "
FO R SALE AT A LL B OO "STORE S-
.
 W 0MAN :

AND HE R SE CRE T PA SSIO N S .

C HAP T E R I .

W OM A N . HE R PE CULIA R W O RTH .

T HE charm s , the lo vel iness o f wo m an , and her capacity

for giv in g pl easur e to the opposite sex , as well as the
enj oyment o f rati onal happiness in herself, have been t he
theme o f poets in al l ages When formed as nature in
.

tended her to be , and when following out in her life and

hab its , the dictates o f n ature , woman is like a poem
in herse lf—a creature of music , and a l uxur iant tree o f
fr agrant blossoms She has been compared to almost
.

everyth ing that is beautiful and delightful in nat ure .

S he was in tended by the Creator to be loved ; no t only a s

the medium through which the earth is p opulated ; but
als o as an object of regard on account of her graces both ,

physical and moral independent o f mere sensual grati

,

fic at io n .

With the lower animals it is not s o We observe in .

,

the females of t he b rute creation ,nothing p eculiarly at

,

tractive except the mere generative power and adaptation

,

to bearing the young o f her species The male seeks her .

for that object alone ; an d having gratified his carnal appe

tite she ceases to be an object o f desire o r of pleasur e t o
, ,

him . What appears t o us l ike a young and comely

3

I ‘ t n
 4

femal e—in comparison with others o f the species evi -

den t ly has no superior attractions fo r the male He goes .

indiscriminate ly t o the o ld and the young to the pl ump ,

and well kept animal o r the old and sh aggy creatu re that
has borne young for years It has n o choic e —n o tas te
,

.
,

a p rec ia t io n o f beauty or o f qualities .

ere then is a marked difference between o ur speci es

, ,

an d those o f inferior beings Woman is prized fo r her

.

beauty o f mind and person The deli cate skin the soft
.
,

and tender expression o f the eyes t he ruby m ou t h the , ,

early teeth the well turned neck the swelling an d plump

p
-

, ,

osom t he t apering waist the rounded hips the robust and

, , ,

symmetr i cal l imbs the neat ancles and arched foot are
, ,

objects that are eagerly sought by the eye o f man and ,

richly prized when found Added to beauty o f feature

.

and of form a re the graces of motion— the sprightly an d

,

springy step the graceful bend of the body delicac of

, ,

tas te and manners and all those n ameless and b ewit c ing
,

graces o f action that pertain t o proper an d well k ept -

womanhood and add to o ur appreciation of Nature s l ast

,
’

and most beautiful work .

If such be woman in a state o f n ature it is deplorabl e ,

to re flect that all o f the fair sex are n ot thus blesse d .

Health is needfu l to the development o f feminine beauty ,

whether o f form or o f moti on Yet ho w few o f them .

seems to heed this fact I— ho w few even o f those whom

leisure an d wealth afford the mean s o f insuri n g and pre
serving a sound condition of b ody and m ind avail them
selves o f those means "If instead o f rising l ate an d
,

neglecting proper exercise the wealthy young lady would

,

S ring from her bed at the first appearan ce o f light w hen

tp
,

e rosy dawn first looks in at her window a n d aft r a ,

e

wash in cold water , set o ut upon a ramble over the mead

o r through the woods an d walk from three to five mil es
,

before setting down to her b reakfast and after eating her ,

morn ing meal would try another walk o r ride o n horse

,

back , a couple o f hou rs , she would r eturn home invigo

 5

rated whi l e the roses on her cheeks wou l d vie with the
,

da mask flowers of the field .

N or would it be alone i n the bright eyes an d the glow

in
g cheeks that she would re ap the rewa rd of her early
r i sing and exercis e fo r her spiri ts would be as buoyant as
those of the merry plow b oy and her conversation and
-

manners woul d charm all who came withi n the c ircle o f '

her acquaintance Then she might dis pense with those

.

artificial aids to beauty which no w encumber the toilet of

t o o man o f o ur fair dames
y S he would say
. to c osmetics ,
“
your re i gn is over an d to stuffing and cotton padding
’
, ,

your occupation is gone 1 A fairy in the family circle ,

’

and a Cinderella in the ball room she would captivate all

-

hearts while in her o wn wholesome bosom would well up

a c ontinual fountain o f health and joy "Should she per
sist in early‘rising and long rural /W alks in the morning ,
all nature would assum e a new garb in her eyes t he gr een
grass would be like P aradise to her Spirit and the trees ,

would break fort h i nto singing Le t her try t he experi .

ment an d she will discover that the one half has n ot been
tol d her .

Lying late in t he morning and taking little exer cise in

,

the Open air is exceedingly preju dicial to young ladies ;

,

n o t only o n account of the unhe althiness o f such idleness

itsel f ; but because of the fatal hab its t o which it som e
tim es gives rise and which it fosters to a most alarming
,

degree .

Begin the habit early then ; and adhere to it rigi dly

, .

If you do n ot immediately experience a benefit from

the course pres cribe d ; persevere neverth eless and in a ,

short time y o u will begin to reali ze the immense adv an

ta ges resulting from it R ise as early as possibl e in
.
_

winter and after a w ash in col d water take your regular

, ,

walk If the weather be in clement you can g uard agai nst

.
,

it by additional clothing but do no t give up the practice

o n account o f the cold B e con stant be regular and
.
, ,

your reward will be incalculably grea t .

 C HAPT E R II .

S ELF P OLL UTI O N

-
. B O ARD IN G SC H OOL S .

Ir n ow becomes my duty to speak plainly He that .

would guard his fellow creatures against evil must set

-
,

f orth that evil in its true colors or his labor may

, be in

vain and the evil continue to exist unreproved

,
.

The luxurious habits o f civilized li fe lead to many

excesses Those o f gluttony and hard drinking have been
.

s u ffi ciently commen t ed upon Tracts and . newspap ers '

showing the fatal results o f in t oxication surrounding us ,

o n all hands .But an evil more destructive than any o f

these has received comparatively but l ittle attenti on It
, ,
.

is time that the warning was given and that t he trumpet ,

was blown within the hearing of every young person .

For want o f knowledge on this subject t he fairest daugh ,

te rs of the land have gone down to a premature grave or ,

lingered out existe nce in wretchedness without knowing ,

the cause o f their misery or without ever kn owing that

,

there was such a thing as enjoyment in l iving according ,

t o the dictate s of nature and o f virtue .

It is a fact generally conceded that those young person s

,

who fall a prey to secret vi ce are the most pro m ismg t he

, ,

most beaut iful and generally those who woul d have en

,

j oyed the greatest amount of happiness i f t hey had ,

es caped the temptations of O nam sm as it is te rmed It

'

, .

has b een indeed those girls who were in earlier li fe t he

, , , ,

pride o f their families and of their friends whose disp o ,

s it io ns were the most a ffectionate and whose conversatio n

was the most lively and captivating who have become t he ,

victims o f this most withering calamity Its e ffects upo n .

their constitutions upon their temper and their personal

, ,

pearan ce have been deplorable even before they knew

gp
, ,

e cause of their distas te for li fe and its rationa l p leasures

which they daily experienced .
 7

As an e xamp l e of the v as t change for the worse that is

made in the feelings o f those young persons who become
sl aves to this revolting habit I give the following letter ,

from M B a young lady of fourteen years who had been

. .
, ,

sent t o a boarding school by her aunt with whom she had

previousl y resided The first was written o n her arrival
.

at the school and read thus : ,

M Y D E A R A UNT The packet reached P o n Tue s

day aftern oon O h " what a delightful sail we had up the
river "I wished that you and dear cousin Mary had been
.

o n board everything was s o delightful and the Captain

,

was so ki nd and a ll the passengers were so pleas ant

, I .

think that sailing on the water is the most del ightful thing
in the world We sa w the green fields and the groves
.

and woods al l along the shore as we sailed and people o ut ,

i n t he meadows making hay in the bright sun and some

'

o f the cottages were standing so near the water that you ,

could plainly hear the voices o f little children as they ,

played before the doors and ran about the gardens at ,

t a c hed t o them I seem ed to be in a perfect P aradise

. .

We got to the school in the m orning Such del ightful .

fie l ds and fl owers and trees I never saw and the birds ,

s ing an d the l ittle fish leap up in the streams a n d p onds

an d gl isten i n the sun "O h " my dear dear aunt how , ,

sha ll I thank y ou fo r sending me to so delightful a place

But the school bell rings and I mus t hasten to con clude .

I g o to my delightful studi es once more S o good bye .

ti ll next week .

’
Your ever affectionate M B , . .

S uch was the first l etter from this young and gay
,

hearted g irl Many o f her succeeding ones were equally

.

l ively and pleasant But after a time their tone was

. , , ,

changed until at the end of some eleven months the fol ,

l owing was received fr om her

M Y D E AR A UNT You write that you have been rather
p oor l
. y I am so rry to hear it : but I believe it i s the

c ommon c omplaint about this time A M rs W . .

 8

died in this village of can cer o n the b reas t l ast S atu rday , ,

and I attended her funeral The si ght o f so m any graves .

O ppressed me with sadness and I could n o t hel p shedd i ng ,

t ears all that evening I went to walk i n the grov es t o

.

see if it would no t remove my melancholy : but it onl y

m ad e it worse In deed I do not seem to be well T he
.
, .
.

sun hurts my eyes an d makes my forehead ache , and whe n

I walk far I feel s e languid and t ired that I am gl ad t o
'

sit down or reti re to bed as e arly as p

,
o ss ible My studi es .

also fatigue me and have lost their relish Indeed , aunt ,

,
.

I fee l lonesome up here and my friends among the girls

,

a pp ea r t ired o f m e t o o My conversation se em s to gi ve
.

them n o pleasure as it did formerly an d I feel all the , ,

time as if someth ing was goin g to happen o f a distrem

,

ing nature I really want to lea ve the lace and co m e

.

home to your house once more whe re I 8 all at l east, b e , ,

sure of on e friend .

Your a ffectionat e niece M B ’ , . .

Her au nt was an intell igent wom an who had su ffered ,

'

from evil habits herself in earl y l ife an d she immedi at ely

suspecte d o n the receipt of th i s last letter th at a ll was
, ,

n o t righ t Her nie ce was an orphan girl who had been

confided t o her care by her dying parents and she felt t he ,

liveliest interest in her welfare and future r especta bili ty .

When there fore her suspicions were aroused she lo st n o

, , ,

time in str iking at the root o f the supposed evil S he .

sent o ff a note to her family physician requesting his im

mediate attendance and he returned to the house o f M rs
, .

B w ith the bearer o f the n ote

.
, .

The lady imparted her suspicions to the medic al gentl e

man She even showed him the letter He agreed
. .
-

her in regard to the cause o f her niece s melancholy an d ’

recommended that she should be instantly sent fer .

The physician and M rs B then agreed u pon the course . .

o f conduct that should be pursued to wards the you ng gi rl

,
the former being unknown in the matte r in order t o save
the feelin gs o f the un happy victim o f self poll ution -
.
 9

CHAPTE R 111 .

A TT E M P T AT A CURE .

T HE . .
"
young l ady (M B came home to the house o f her
aunt in the aftern oon o f a pleasant day being n e w fifteen ,
years o f age .

Her aunt received her as c ordially as usual but could ,

n o t avoid betray ing at the first moment her surprise and

, ,

grief at the alt erat i n in the personal appearance of her

mece .
g
This young girl had been gifted by nature with a hand
some countenance and rather plump form All this was .

rapidly changing Her eyes were heavy and dimmed

. ; ,

an d wandered in an unse tt led manne r ar oun d the room ,

.

T here was a careworn expression in her face and her ,

voice was languid and weak .

After the first salutation was over M B e xpressed a wish , . u

t o retire and rest herself after the fatigue o f her journey ,

and indeed she appeared to be half dead from weariness

, , .

As soon as she was gone to her apartment her aunt sat

'
,

down and coveri ng her eye

,

refrain from shedding tears S he thought o f the bloom

.

’
in g girl who had gone from her a year b efore ra d ian t wrt h ,

healt h and buoyant with cheerfulness and asked herself ,

could this be she ? What a havoc a few months had

made with youth and beauty "But she resolved tha t her
cure should be forthwi t h attempte d—that no means shoul d
be l eft untried to sn atch the p o or girl from destruct i on .

M B arose in time fo r supper She ate heart i ly and

. . . ,

then her aunt proposed a rambl e i n the Open ai r The .

young girl languidly consented though it was ewden t that ,

‘
she would rather have remained within d oers All oxer .

tion seemed to distress her But the aunt took her out t o
.

walk ; an d as i t was a fine moonlight evening the pond , ,

the grov e, an d the old g ray rocks presented unwon ted ,

 1 0

attrac tions But the niece t ook 0 interest in any of

.
.

these as she had once done She eem ed to th i nk only o f

,

.
,
ett ing back to the house a nd sitting dow n supinely in
er corner .

When t hey were about retir i ng to b ed, her aunt sa i d -

t o her , ’

C me m dear you had bet t er sl eep with me t o n i ght -

y
.
o , ,

M B exhibi ted some surprise and then her aunt sa id

. . , ,

‘As you
a re so poorly I ought to be with y o u so that I f
,

o u should want an thing in the night

y y
O h no aunt i nterrupted the n ie ce W i th an i mat i on
-

, ,
,

I am never ill in that manner to need any assista n ce i n , “

the night You need not take the l east trouble on my

.

ae o o un t f
’
But I insist that you sleep with me returned the aunt , ,

for you don t kno w so well as I do wha t is best in s uch

’
‘

c as es .
’ ‘
s

For a moment the young girl look ed at her aunt suspi

,

cio u sly as if she had c aught an idea that the true cause
,

of her deb ility was Suspected But the aunt was o n her .
‘

guard and acted i n such a t n ann er as t o dispel the in

,

u ietude o f the gi rl The latte r made n o m ore objecti ons,

q .
,

though it wa s plain tha t she would havie preferred t o re

tire to her o wn chamber and sleep alone
’

They throw o ff their garmen ts and went to bed Aft er .

a little desultory conversation bo th of them sank into the ,

arms o f Morpheus .

J ust before daylight the aun t woke up an d perceived

.

, ,

that M E was al so awake The former lay perfectl y

. . .

uie t so that her neic e was not a ware o f her being awake l
.

gn a few m om ents the aunt had indubitable ce rtainty o f

,
'

the fatal habit which her n iece had ac a ired and whi ch ,

was so fas t ened upon her that she cou d n o t even wait ,

unt il she was alone before she put i n practi ce the me ans
“

o f procuring the c ustomary ple asure .

Suppo si ng her aunt t o be sound asl eep th e y mm g girl ,

commen c ed the act , hough in a ve ry cautious an d guarded

t
 1 1

manner T hen the aunt pretended to wake up an d fling

—
.
,

mg her a rms about her, said What ~ who— what is this

Then s he immedia a dded
‘
m
O h it is yo u, my dear I T , .

f
a m so much acc ustomed to sleep al one that I di d no t éit
fi
r st , recoll ect that y o u were wi h me
t . How do you feel ,
this m o rn in g ?
’

M B replied in a voice that she tr i ed to render ch eer

. .

fu l , but it was evident that she was vexed at an inter

‘

r uption which reven ted her ng in pra ctice her

usual habit he aun t was
. to fall asleep ag ain
un til it was time to r ise .

M B did n ot attempt t o leave her aunt that morning ,

. .
,
‘

unti l after breakfast when the yo ung girl was suddenly

,

m issed .

A servant be ing q uestioned said that she liad seen Miss

’

put o n her bonnet and 0 towards t he grove that stoo d on

a p iece of rising g rou n dbeyond the pond
The aunt instantl y thr e w o n he r : shawl and h ood and ‘

h astened to the grove She w ish ed to act with caution

”

she had n o doubt that having be n disappointed in t he

e , “

commission of the act in bed that morning the you ng girl ,

had withdraw n herse lf t o some secret place where she

m ight indulge her d estru ctive pr0 pen s ity w itho ut inter ,
.
,

r uption S he wished then to prevent the girl from com

.
, ,

m itting the act without betrayi ng her knowledge o f her

weakness .

When there fore the aunt reached the grove , she saun
, , .
‘

tered carel essly o n in a n indi fferent manner

,

her o n every side ; but

.

though she searche d the

Being convinced that o v e,
the good woman retraced her steps towards the ho use In .

assm g the barn she heard som e o n e breathing within ,

p ,

and applying her eye t o a knot hole ,she saw her n i ece re -

c lin in g on the hay an d i n the very act o f injur i ng hersel f .

S he ran around to the door of the b arn and called M B . .

in a hasty manner The girl came to her immed iately b ut

. ,
 12

with a face red as scarl et though she had no re aso n t o

as ,

believe that a ny one had discovered her folly The aunt .

di d not o n this occasion act with her usfl al prudence

, ,
.

She looked sha rply at the girl until the latter trembled ,

as if with apprehens ion that her secret was d i sc overed .

Come said the aunt in a tone harsher tha n usual

,
’
,

what c an you be doing in the barn am ong the cattle ? I

expect the doctor here every moment for we m ust find , ,
‘
o ut how it is that a young g i rl o f natura l ly good const i
t ut io n and fo r whom everything wholesome is provid ed ,

should be s inking da by day under some mysteri ous d is

, ,

temper We must e in the house when the physician

.
‘

arrives .
’

M B n o w seemed real ly irritated no t only at the

. . .
,

b rusque manner o f her aunt ; but m ore than al l at having ,

been interrupted in her second attempt at self pollutio n -

.

Why aun t cried she can I n ot walk out a m oment

,
’
, ,

to en oy the m orning air I m sure I need it badly enough

'
’
,

and ve heard that for consumpti ve pe rsons t he atmos

’

here o f a stable is a rest orative —at l east so I have often

, ,

e
,
’
eard .

This attempt at evasion and falseh o od struck t he aunt

so unpleasantly that s he was throw n wholly o ff her guard ,

and replied hastily ,

‘
Yes that is true in some cases but it was too late t o
,

retreat She had spoken too in a very pointed manner

.
, , ,

and had looked at the young girl in such a way that the
latte r at once perceived that her aunt had seen the whol e .

F o r a moment the eyes o f M B swam in her head she . .

turned deadly pale and fe ll to the fl oor in a fainting fit

, .
 J

1 3

CHA P TE R IV .

CO NF ID E N CE AN D AF F E C TI O N .

W H E N the aunt sa w her neice lying sensel ess before her ,

she was filled with the keen est regret All her affection .

fo r the young g ir l instantl y returned S he called for ass ist

.

a nce and fortunately the doctor arrived at that moment

, .

He ordered that M B should be conveyed to her cham

. .

ber where she soon rec overed and was left to repose
, .

T he au nt then revealed to the physician all that had

happened and expressed her alar m for the consequence t o
,

her niece .

It is best as it is returned the doctor It is better

’
, .

that you should be her confidant than myself an d n o w

that the ice is fairl y broken you can converse freely wi th
,

the young lady on the subject of her infirmity and appl

such remedies as I shall advise I will leave the house fd i
,
‘
.
,

the present and y o u will be kind enough to keep a strict

,

ey e u po u the patien t till she is fairly recovered a nd then

‘
,

o u must come directly to the subject with her and show

yer the ruinous consequences of the course which she is
,

’
pursuing .

The aunt fe l t that the advice was proper yet she shud ,

dered at the idea o f undertak ing so delicate a business .

She visited the chamber of her niece several times during

the foren oon just to inquire how she felt The replies were .

brief while the young girl kept her face concealed with
,

evi dent shame now that she knew her conduct was know
,

to her best friend .

In the afternoon when dinner was placed on the table

, ,

the aunt sent up an invitation for M B to come do wn t o . .

try to eat something The ans wer came back that M B

.
. .

was not well enough t o ea t any dinner .

It was n ot diflic ul t to divine the cause of th is repl y , and

 1 4

the unwillingness o f the girl to appear in the pres ence o f

her aunt .

°
Arming herself with resol ution the good woman as ,

c en ded at once to the chamber of her niece and throw ng

i ,

her arms aroun d her as she l ay upon the bed said ,

Come my dear , come down and eat your dinner and

,
,

believe m e to be o ur fr iend who desires your welfare ,

above all things 0 will talk o f all th is whenever you

.

are disposed but for the present come down and ea t

, ,
’
your regular meal .

M B suffered hersel f to be persuaded an d was l ed dow n

. . ,

s tairs by her aunt S he ate bu t li ttle however and spo k e

. , ,

less She was suffe red to retire to her chamber soon a fter
.

wards where she remained until the next morning

,
.

O n the next day the aunt led the conversati on to t he

"
subject that most inte rested her At first M B prete nd .
,
. .

er n o t to know what she meant ; but gradually she was

p availed on to speak freely and the n s he made a fu l l con
'
,

fessio n o f her errors to her b est friend

.
.

It app eared that at the board ing schoo l where M B

i
. .

was se nt there was a girl cal led Fanny two years o l der
, ,

than M B S he was a very pr etty girl and o f l ivel y man

. .

n ers and conversation M B was i n terested in her and

. . .
,

when she proposed to be the bedfell ow o f the former she

, ,

willingly consented to the arrangeme nt .

F o r the first few nights they l ay aw ake conversing an

"
hour o r two before dro pping to sl eep : A t' length Fanny
got into a habit o f praisi ng the young girl and would pas s ,

her han d over her limbs and hips and spea k o f her fin c ,

form . From th at Fan n y proce eded in the cou rse o f a ,

;

c ouple of weeks to take still gr eate r lib erties an d t o invade

,

th ose charms which should be sacred to the ma n o f a ’ '

wo man s ch oice
’
.

'
These l iberties alarmed M B at firs t but when they . .
,

were ca rried still farther, the youn gir l mad e discoveries

to which she had previously been a g tran ger Fanny grew .

so bold as to ac tually p er form t he act w hich prod u ced

 1 5

she di d with a refine d ingenuity which

t it i l lation , and this
prov ed t o o c l earlythat she had become we ll acquainte d .

with matters relating to se xual in dulgence .

After the first performance o f th is act M B yielded , . .

herself up wholly to t he wiles o f Fa nny who sometimes r

,

personated a husba nd hugged r and kissed M B in the , . .

m ost ardent manner and in other respects pretended to

,

enact the part of o ne of the o posite sex

p .

In this way had M E bee n thoroughly inducted into the

.
‘
.

m ost pernicious o f all habits and when at length Fanny , , ,

left the boarding school an d went home to her mother at

M the yo ung girl had continued those practices al o ne ,

carrying the m to an extravagant excess which she had

n ever indulged in with the artful destroyer of her v irt uous
feel ings .

A ll this and much m ore was revealed to the aunt by her

n iece who n ow th at she had be gun her confessio ns t e
-

, , ,

vealed all that had oc curred to her in this respect .

M B was m uch alarmed at hearing from her aunt the

. .

co nsequences o f this vice She had never once suspected .

t he true c ause o f her debility gloom an d lo wness o f sp iri ts ; , ,

'

and thus it is that young peopl e of b oth sexes go o n for

,

years in the practice o f O nanism feeling dispirited languid , , ,

and restless without ever once thinking of the true caus e

,

o f their ill health and their misery .

It is therefore of the last impor tance tha t all young

, , ,

persons suspected o f this habit o r who exhibit the sym p ,

toms attendant upon it should b e warne d o f its horri b le

,

effects before the vice has become confirmed and they fin d

it difficult or even impossibl e to br eak away fr om its se
duc t iv e p ower .
1

T he aunt o f M B dul y informed the doctor o f the (1 1 8

. .

closures that had b een m a de to her an d he g ave such ,

direc t ions in respect t o diet a nd regim e as he though t the

case required .

O n her pa rt M B plac ed herse lf entirely i n thehands

, . .

of her a u nt S he made her niec e sleep with her every

.
 1 6

night In the morning she administered a cold bath and

.

took her o ut o n a walk o f several m iles b efo re b rea kfa st ,

wh ile the food gi ven to her was plain and nouri sh i ng but ,

free from all heating ingredien t s .

0

In two weeks M B showed the result o f th is treatment

.

very plainly The color had ret urned to her cheeks her
. ,

spirits we re restored her eyes were brilliant and sparkl i ng

,
,

and her flesh was sound and firm She could n ot believe .

that she had ever been addicte d to so degrad ing a h abit ,

and wondered how she could have been led away and in '

fatua ted by its seductions but chiefly she wonde red that
she had never before suspec ted the cau se o f her bad feel
ings fo r n o w that she had relinquished the practi ce she ,

could very e as ily trace the evil in its e ffects .

In short a perfect cure was e ffected The young gir l

,
.

’
became once more the ornament of her aunt s abode the
favorite o f the o ld and the gayest among the young .

Let it not be forgotte n that these bright res ults were the
consequence o f c o n fiding her story to o n e who knew ho w
t o apply the remedy Secrecy is the great enemy of re
.

form and when once the truth becomes known there is

, ,

h 0 pe for the victi m o f this most diabolical vice .

CHA P TE R V

VAL U E O F C O N TI N E N C E . A C AUT I O N T O T HE M ARR I E D .

BEF ORE we can esti m ate the h orrors of self pollution we -

,

mus t know how to put a j ust value upon the semi nal liquid .

It is to this that we are indebted for o ur health beauty

,
, ,

and the enj oyment o f life W hen this is wasted decay o f

.
,

beauty follows old age comes on prematurely and a sen se ,

o f continual suffering prompts to s uicide Affection socia l .

,

fee li ng friendship , al l vanis h We become a prey to im

, .

gi na ry te rrors We are haunte d by continua l anx ie ty ,

.
 1 8

during which severa l l ette rs passed between the t wo l ov ers:

O ne from Bernard re ad as follows

My secret and blessed Dove

Time that tore us asunder will soon un i te us aga i n
With my whole heart I love you ; and the mist risin g from
the sea glorious with sunny hues is less lovely i n my
, ,

sight ; like a spiritual essence divested of all earthly ta i nt .

The touch o f thy fair hand sheds joys innumerable into my

whole being and the glance of thy eyes s heds light and
life into my bounding hear t P eace to thy sl um ber— j oy
,

t o thy wak ing and li ghtning speed to the hours that d i

I

vide us .

T hine B ER N AR D,
.
’

The foll owing is from Angelina to Bernard written a,

few days before their marriage

My blessed Heart ,

I await thee my sweet l ove as the m orning mist

, ,

waits the sun to be raised from earth to heaven for thou

,

art my sun and I have light and buoyancy only through

,

th ee Where thou art not is dark n ess but thy presenc e

.
'

is the light o f my eyes the j o o f my soul Thy love is

, .

the swee t balm o f my spirit r source o f my j oys an d

.
,

theme of my though ts come quickly I fai nt with excess

, .
'

o f transport o f meeting thee C o m e an d let my soul ex

. ,

p ire in thy bliss at the sound o f thy dear blessed foo ts teps , .

A N GELI N A .
’

S uch was the love o f Bernard and Angelina sin c erely ,

expressed Act and word in accordance they exhibite d a

.
,

most happy pair as they stood at the altar All the vil .

la gers progn osticated a most genial marriage For som e .

t i me th is anticipation seemed to he r e al ized They were .

seen hand in hand wandering through the glades or seat

, , ,

ed a t eventide by the brook with eyes raised t o the hea

vens as if in ecstatic e njoyment .
 1 9

B ut let the re ader peruse the two fo llowi '

l etters ,
wr i tte n about thr ee months after their un ion an compare ,

t hem with the two letters which were written before :

D E A R WI F E
Yours of May 2d was received I was glad to hear
, , .

from y ou and yet why repine at my absence ? You know

, ,

that bus iness recpi ires a temporary separation and it is ,

your d uty to he,resigned to your lot : O the rwise you do

n ot ful fil the vows pro n o un ced at the altar and your let ,, ,

te rs will prove rather an annoyance than a comfort t o your

,

absent hus band I beg that y ou will attend faithfully to

my i nte rests in my absence which y ou can hardly do if
, ,

y o u spe nd your t ime in repin ing at unavo idable fate The .

wea ther is horrib l e and my affai rs here are perplexing in

,
’
t he extre me . Yours BER NA R D ,
.

Here is Ange l ina s re p

ly ’

D EAR BER N A R D
Your very poli te g allan t and en co ur ag in g epistle was
, ,

received last n ight I beg you will n ot be u neasy about

.

my atten tion to y ou r afiaz rs which seems to engross your

”
,

whole thoughts at present — though on ce it was not so

,
.

O n your ge nerosity I ha ve thrown myself in bind ing my fate

to yours fo r life though I nee d not say that I had a happy .

home b efo re y o u took me as an appen da g e to your estate

'
.

But this is ill nature d -

N o doubt tha t you have been
.

’
vexed by the cares of b usin ess ian d the { horrible weather ,

and I ought to overlook what has given me unhapp i ness ,

l est indeed my letters should be what you fear rather

, ,
‘
,

an annoyance t han a c o mfort t o you Hop i ng for bet

, .
’

A N GEL I NA
’

er times Your .

Does it n ot seem al most incredible that three short

months should have made so great a change in the feel i ngs
o f two r ati o n al beings towards each other ? Yet for all
this, there was a cause both pa lpable and natural .
 20

They came together in marriage like too many others , ,

under an apprehension that they had n oth i ng to do but

to plunge into a jar o f sweets and overwhel m themselves
,

in the cont inual delights of sexual enjoyment For a few .

da s they enjoyed great pleasure but as they cont i nu ed

y ,

th i s course week after week they exh auste d the founta i n

,

of pleasure To speak plain E nglish they wasted their ,

sem inal fluid too lavishl y—they drained their bodies o f

.

that precious liqu id wh i ch is t he cause o f beauty youth

, , .

and love Their spirits sank in consequen ce o f this crim

.

inal waste : their health was impaired : the heart an d

lungs were robbed o f a great porti on o f their vital ity
the freshness of youth became wilted : their nerves were
ea s ily irritated : nature herself became disrobed o f her
attractions a disinclination to all exertion and a d is ta st e ,

for everything wh ich had previously given th em pleasure ,

followed and it is not strange that the glowing l ove which

,

they had cherished for eac h other became dimmed and ,

was followed by mutual repro a c li es an d recriminations .

This mighty change in their feelings is therefore a t , ,

tributable to a very natural cause Had Bernard a n d .

Angel ina been sat isfied on their marriage with one week s
, ,
’

indulgence in sexual gratification ; and had they then

checked themselves and resolutely abstained for one month,
from actual co it ion a nd subse quently indulged in the sex
,

ual act some t wo or three times a m onth or even less ,

than that they would have preserved their first feelin gs

,

fresh and lively and would have continued to love eac h

,

other dur ing the ir whole lives But they did n ot this
. .

T hey continued fo r more than a year to indu lge in ex

treme gr at ification and at the end of that time Angeli na
, ,
sued for a separate ma intenance .

If these causes result from too free a n indulgence of

sexual pleasure in the natural way what can we hope for ,

those unhappy youths and maidens who despoil themselves

o f the very spi rit o f life a nd love by solitary gratifica tion ?

In Vi ew o f the deplorable res ults o f thi s habit to so many

 21

thousands o f the fair sex we might al m ost ima gine that

,

the p rophet of Israel had a direct refere nce to this s ubject

when he exc lai med O h "
,

that mine eyes were water and

, ,

my pi l low a flo od o ft ears that I might weep for the slai n

. ,
o f my people
’
.

C onsumpti on which is so fatal to the American fair

, ,

may be i n a good degree attributable to the fatal vice

, ,
'
o f ma st urbatio n Want o f o ut door exercise and seden
.
,

ta ry habits predisp ose t o this practice and how many ,

ha ve gone do wn to an early g rav e f o r want of obeying

the dicta tes of nature and listen ing to the repeated warn
ing s o f the most ab le physicians "

C HAPTE R VI .

T HE CH O I C E HU S B AN D
‘

ON OF A .

IT is too much the case with young girls that they lo ok '

upon marriage as the sovereign remedy fo r all unhappi

nes s—the great aim and obj ect of their existence Hence .

follow so many rash and unhappy unions

‘

A s no young lady can enter the marriage state without ,

ex pecting to yield to the embraces o f her husband she ,

shoul d n o t be in h aste to become united for L i fe to one of

the opposite sex She should discourage immediately all
.,

atte ntions from the man whom she does not fancy or who ,

is unsuitable for her Infidelity in men is ve y common

.
,

because their wives prov e unsa tisfa c tory A man o f

, _
.
,
'

strong amorous fee lings pays his court to a woman of a

cold temperament In her eagerness to marry she en
. ,
~

courages his visits and leads hi m to sup o se that she is

sin cerely attach ed t o him Yet his ar ent manner finds
.

li ttle response i n her bosom Still she has her own rea
.

so ns for wis hing to marry ; a nd thinks it most prudent

not t o reject an o ffer especially as her l over is ab l e to
,
 22

provide her with a good home S he is there fore lay ing

‘

.
, ,

the foundation of her own wre tchedness, and l eadin her

admirer into a snare She affects to b e plea sed wit his
.

conve rsation and his manners while there is much i n both

,

that is not congenial with her own feelin s

At leng t h the we dding day arrives ghey are married
.

. .

‘
For a few days t he bride enjoys t he a t ten t ion s of her .

husband and then her natural coldness begins to exhibit?

,

its el f She can no t endure his embraces and s he is even

. ,

repell ed by his ardor The husband is then di ssatisfied

.
,

and soon finds in the arms o f more amorous women c o m ,

s o lut io n for the indi fference o f his wife She dis c overs .

his unfaithfulness and a divorce follows The wi fe n ot

, .
,

in t he leas t daunted by her first unsuccessful essay see ks ,

another husband ga ins him and he in turn becom es d is

,

satisfied with so ungenial a companion E verybody sym .

a t hiz es with the poor woman and thinks her deeply

p ,

i njured but she is her own enemy and should have mar ,

ried a man if she married at all whose temperament was

, ,

as cold a s her o wn .

Many a W oman has taken to herself gr eat credit tb r

ch astity who is indebted only to her coldnes s o f t empera
,

ment fo r the preservation of her virtue .

While living in the count ry I became a cq uainte d with

a Mr P
. . a young man o f large expectations an d a ,

great admirer of the fair sex He formed an acqu aintan ce

.

with a young l ady— the daughter o f a clergyman 4 m a -

neighboring village He believed that she was strongly

.

atta ched to him I had often seen them i n c ompany

.
.

t ether and kne w by the lymphati c tempe ra ment o f the

,

la y that she was ill ada pte d t o be c ome the wife o f P

-

I c o uld also percei ve that his lively conversati on affo rd ed

.

her no pec ul iar plea sure t hough she was careful n o t t o

,
v

e h ibit her distas te t o him While he w convers i ng

x as .

W i th her her eyes ofte n wandered o ff to wards men

, who
we re far more congenia l t o he r t as te than her l ove r I .

once too k the li berty o f a frie nd to suggest s omethin g of

 23

t he k ind to P was what might ha ve bee nHis reply ‘

expected from one o f his hot a nd h asty tempe rament and ,

our inti macy was b ro ken o ff for several months They .

ha d been m arried some t wo or three m o nths zwhe n I per ,

ceiv ed a dispos itio n an the part of P to renew o ur
. .

acquaintan ce and p l ace it o n i ts former footing I had

-
.

my sus picions with regard to the cause and gave him ,

every opportunity to further his object Accord ingly we .

,
were very soon as famili ar as ever;
‘
D o you remember said he to me o ne even ing that
,
’
, ,

you hin ted at Caroline s c oldness and want o f love for me , ’

:

a few weeks previous to o ur

N o t prec isely that said I ‘but I thought you were ’ ‘

,
, ,

il l m atched and that both o f y ou would fin d it o ut when

-
,
-

t oo late
’
.

After a paus e of some minutes, P replied : "Yo u

were right E v erybod y praises my wife—
.
L eve r b o d
y y says
that I have made a go od match and that it is my o wn
‘

fault i f I am not happy but t here are secrets which they

‘
'

do n ot k now I have found n o sympathy any where Yo u

.
“

. .

conl y appear to have un derstood the t rue state o f the case .

My wife appear s to have entertained no correct idea o f

the purposes of marria ge S he thi nks it a great hardship .

to receive my cares se s and takes no pleasure in them , .

’

I could propose n othing for the relief of my friend, .

His c ase admitted o f n o remedy In about a year after .

this conversation it was reported that P , kept a m is~

t res s This got to t he ears of his wife S he was exceed
‘

. .

ingly o ffended eve n while her coldness prevented him from

,

deriving any ple as ure in her society As there was no .

dir ect proof of her husband s delinqu en cy she could n ot ’

recced against him Ye t she was firmly persuaded o f ' '

h
.

is infid elity S he de t ermined to revenge upon P by o h

. .

ta i ning a lover T hat was n ot difficult a s th ere were

’
.
,

s e veral men who admire d the appearance o f Mrs P and . .

,

were accustome d to speak in her praise To o n e o f these

’

.
.

she g ave so mu ch en couragement t that he p roposed an

 24

op ment A f t r some hesitation the unfortuna te l ady

el e . e ,

c ons e nte d to it But. her absence from the Vi llage had

’

scarcely been observed before she re turn ed to her fath er s

house b roken hearted The man for wh am she h a d l ost
-
.

her reputation was a pe r son of"amorous temperamen t

,
'

who j ud g ing from C aroline s fo rm a nd general bear i ng ,

,
’ ‘

ima in ed her to be suitable to his wishes. But n o sooner

e taken her u der his char e than he found that she
had n g , .

expec t ed to be entertained with expensive jaunts to E u

rope and the various places o f pub lic resort wh i l e o n her “

part she could yield no pleasure to the man whose pockets

,

s he wished to drain He soon grew t ired o f paying so

.

dearly for what ielded him n o return and deserte d her i n

o n e of the Souty
,

ern States leaving her a s um of money

,

barely sullic ien t to pay her expenses home She was n ow .

fully convinced o f her defic iencies When her husband .

had complained of her coldn ess she had assured him that ,

any other man would be gl ad to win her regard But her .

n ew lover had opened her eyes ; an d she felt t hat her hus
band had fo rmed a just estimate of her qualiti es as a wife .

A d ivorce soon followed , and P subsequently ma rried a .

'

lively young brunette wh ose attractions an d b l andishments

,

fully sat isfied his expectations .

A woman must not expect everything from her hus

band She must n ot suppose that he can devo te all his
.

time an d attention to her and that she can l ive wholly

,

upon his smiles and complimen ts S he must engage in .

so me k ind of employmen t —s omething calculated to allevi

ate the ennui o f his absence I speak of wome n who .

really love n ot of those who are glad to get their hus

,

bands out o f the way that they may enjoy themselves

with their female frie nds and neighbors Sleeping i n the .

same b ed o r even in the same apartment with their hus

, ,

bands night after night is productive of much evil , as

, ,

they appe ar to eac h oth er under circumstan ces unfavor

able t o the continuance o f that mutual admiration whi ch
first bro ught them to gether A l ady should n ot see her
.
 26
several duties and performing all tho se cpurtesies that fil l
,

up each day o f the week .

T hey sent each other kisses from their fin gers ti ps

’
’

’
The time was when t hey kissed ea ch o th er s l ips .

In truth the picture represents modern respecta b le ,

,

and as the world goes contente d domestic l i fe There

, ,
.

are however no little olive branches running about t he

, ,

floor and the vine has as yet borne n o fruit

If the real condition of the parties could be kn own—if
.
, , ,

it were permitte d to let fall th e curtain so that the actors

could throw o ff the restraint which the fact o f the eyes o f
the world being upon them imposes how different might ,

be the exhibition The truth is the marriage had n ot

. ,

been consummated .

O wing to an infirmity o n the part o f the h usband the ,

wedding night was passed over with l ess o f those atten

-

tions towards the expectant bride than were wont to be ,

bestowed twenty four hours before whe n m odesty wo

-
, ,

manly chasteness and f m anly propriety ro tecte d the

l ady from what the customs of society p
, ,

is allo ws but ,

wh ich marriage strips in an instant S leep closed the .

eyes of a disappoin ted pair: The first m onth passed _

much in the same mann er as did the first night S un d '

excus es were m ade which were afi

‘
.
e c t io n a t ely receiv
Tha t which o ne arty felt to be a mi sfortune the other ,

might have regar ed as a wrong but woman s nature is .

’

generous She wondered and waite d and hoped for bet,

.
,

te r times Personal disc o mfitures was supported by nu

.

t ic ipa tio ns and ma rital coldness was construed in to par

,

donable timidity T he wife l ess frigid s o u ht b y wo

.
, ,
-

manly endearmen ts , to win her retreating b us and t o her

‘

urpose but in vain and she desis ted He interprete d

p
, , .

er unobtrus ive dissatisfaction int o con tentment and he

came reconciled —not without an occasiona l shudder o f
,

self humi li ation at the part he was play u S till t im e

'

is
-

wore on A year p as s ed over S is ters

. fispered , and
.
 87

brothers ih l aw smiled while mothers and aunts wonder ed

- -
,

aloud that n o heir to the estate had appeared or seemed ,

likely t o arise .

O ur maiden wife still preserved her maiden feelings .

S he wa s wi se enou gh to kno w that a lesson due to a

oung wife from her husband had n ot been imparted to
yer but she was generous enough to withhold nay defy
,

, ,
a complaint that might tell to her partner s ’

S he took even the family wonderment as o ffen s w e and ,

wished they would m ind their own busines s She st ill .

hoped i t had led her through a second and a third summer ,

but there was still no bette r prospect .

Then the husb and began to abate in those little atten

ti ons termed courtesies If he had been home later than .

usual n o apology as had been the custom heretofore was

, ,
‘
,

offered If he dined o ut it was a matter of n o c o n s e

.
-

uen c e ; it bein g quite immaterial whether he kept his

b loe waiting o r signified his intention before leaving .

In fact it was evident that his affections were o n the

‘

wane at home or as a jeal ous one might im agin e were

, ,

e l sewhere bestowed The lady s feelings subsided in t o a

.
’

settled sorrow N o w and then a pan g of dis content

.
,

would t hrill t hro ugh her veins and then all was quiet ,

again Hers was a grief that she could not divulge and
.
,
'

she bit her lips in sil ence It happened at length that .

, ,

the husband was one fine morning shouldering his kna p

sack for a pedestrian jaunt with some friends that news ,

arri ved of the birth o f a nephew The lady then ven tured .

t o say Happy siste r I fear that we shall nev er return

,

the compliment I
The insinuation was quite unintentional but it went ,

home For a moment the husban d seemed paralyzed and

. ,

then a n angry word came to his relie f He said if we ‘

.
,

have n one it is probable that sooner o r later we shal l

, ‘
, ,

have to keep those o f others ; besides you a ppear t o o ,

'

solicitous t o encourage troub le and care an d anx i ety

‘

, ,

whic h we a ll k n ow so many ch ild ren occasion If I m a .

 28

ta ke not , your remark meant m ore than it co nv cy cd a n d

if I g uess aright , I have to thank yo u for i ts appl i cation
but there are t wo sides to the questio n In fact, I bel i eve .

’
it to be as much your fault as mine .

Thus falsely accused the poor wife vindi cate d hersel f, as

,

a woman naturally would o n such an occasion Rec r im i .

nations followed and the matter was referred t o arbitra

,

tion The lady s mother was besou ht to interfere other

.
’

members of the family learned o f t e o ut break ; and at -

last it came to the ears of the narrator P ainful as were .

the feelings which induced a well conduc te d amiable and

-
,

strictly modest woman to submit to a detail o f circum

s tances to an avowal o f her o wn innate feelings and t o
, ,

a professional examination by a stranger like myse l f,

still the necessity rehdered such an appeal most urgent .

What it may be asked could I do in such an affair ? The

, ,
‘

sequel shall prove It is just as possible to re lieve amen d ,

.
,

and restore to a natural condition a perverted o r an im

.

pa ired function o f the organization as it is a disordered ,

stomach a d istempered brain an unruly heart or an en

, , ,

feebled frame I have n ot yet disposed o f my case yet

.

how can I pen and attest the se que l t o give it semblan ce

o f actual occurrence ?
After an examination o f the l ady s physi cal structu re I
’
,

roclaimed her capacity for sexual in te rcourse and for

p cooming t he mother o f children N o t only s o but I
.

als o discovered that she was finely formed for giving t he

highest pleasure to a companion equally amorous with
herself I may say that I never saw limbs so round and
.

beautifully tapering to the anele or greate r womanly,

beauty in those parts particularly devoted to Venus S he .

was o n e o f the finest specimens o f l ovely and attractive

womanh ood that I ever beheld .

I will n ot attempt to picture the feelings o f the husband

whe n the verdict was rendered against h im 1 It was im
posa ble to avoid beholding the great distress and , indeed ,
agony ev i nced by him The sexes seemed fo r a momen t
.
 29
'

to h ave changed Humiliation and despair were relievdd

.
‘ '

by a grateful burst o f g rief n ot loud but deepl c ostar ,

’

tion for a thoughtless word what will it n ot say ? N ever

were l overs m ore l overs than th is pair after this eventful
i ncident Is my narrative here complete ? N o The
.
.

husband put himself under my care ; and at the end o f

twelve months he wrote me a letter ann oun cing the birth
o f a son " The following extract from his l etter may not
me am i ss
'
'

co

A earl y as ten years o f age was I initiated into t he

'

s
properties o f and taught the abuse of a peculiar part o f
,

my organi z ation I have read carefully your O pinion upon

.

the su bject o f this terrible mal appropriation and I b e -

lieve you to be extremely correct in the probable s urmise '

you o ffer My i nformat ion was from ex am ple an d from

' ‘
‘

.
,

being o f an ardent and extravagant disposition and ble sed ,

s

with good organic personal development my mind was ,

always reveling i n ideal pleasures I at length attained .

my t wentieth year when I became acquainted with the

,

lady I have chosen for my wife O f course m y feelings

‘

.
,

were as usual aroused whe n in her society and I enter

, , ,

t a ined n o doubt but that I should render myself q uit e '

worthy of the hon or she had do ne me in her selection .

About this time I accidentally m e t with o n e o f your ,

l ittle publi cations and much do I regret I did not fall in

,

with it years before However it staggered me I b e .

, .

came alarmed and resolved and re resolved to abandon

, ,
-

"
my great evil My efforts were for a while successful an d
.
, , ,

t hen I forgot my intention al reformation until as o ur wed , ,

ding d ay approached I beca m

- e greatly ala rmed lest I
,

shoul d disgrace myself on the fi rst and fast forthcom ing -

occa sion .
'

I w as so imprudent as to submit my organization to

o n e of the frail si sterhood who assured me I differed no t ,

from the r est o f my brotherhood At length t he time o f .

trial ca me , and you know the miserable result B ut thank .

,
 30

Hea v en "after years o f intol erable sufferin g and rem orse ,

o ur prescriptions have restored me t o the d i gnity o f man
1
QO d I
’

CHA P T E R VI .

Ir is n ot only the ruder sex wh o are liabl e to im pui s

sa uc e o r a want of power to consummate the marriage tie ,

but not un frequently the fair sex are found t o be averse to

‘

all copulat io n In such cas es they repel the husb and s

.
’

advances— are revol ted by his caresses and refu se all i nti ,

mac y The husbands of such wives are very unfortunate ,

.

an d it is di f ficult to tell why such women m arry at a ll u n ,

less from the most mercenary motives O ne newly married .

-

m an complained to me that his wife always pre ferred to

be to o sleepy o n first go ing to bed to perform the sexua l
, ,

act a n d when she awoke in the morning she refused his

. ,

atten tions When he asked her i n t he m ost tender man

.

ner to permit him to have connection with her she repl ied , ,

Ge t o ut you nast y creature i t At an other time when he

, ,

put his arm around her neck she threw it o ff an d said , ,

hastily D o you wan t to choke me ?

,

I recommended generous diet fo r the b ody and he re ,

plied that he had been feed ing her o n eggs and ch icken
broth but that they pr oduced n o effect He had next
, .

proc ured love powders from a c el ebrate d for tune tell er an d

-

gave it to her when going to bed at night i n a glass o f

, ,

lemonade ; but she remained as averse t o connub i al con

_

nec t io n as ever .

O ne newly married woman discovered to her grea t m or

-

t ific a t io n that the marital embrace yielded her n o de l ight

,
;
tha t she could by no means conjure u p the le as t pleasur
‘

, ,

ab l e sensation She did not absolu tely expe rien ce pain

.
,
but from the absence o f enjoy m ent she l oo k ed upon the
, ,

act as u ndign ifi ed, and her aversion to it increased every

 31

da y She feared , and with reason that her a a'l sc od

towards her husband and b egpositive shudder whegs ie l
.
,
'

, .

fan c i d he s lf merely he ins t rument o f his gr atific ation

éfi t
‘

woulglea im t o see1 e l sewhere t he pleasure sh e was “ D I

L .

ab l e t o afford .

I
O n examinati on fo und n othing I n the l ady that coul d
’

ca use such i naptitud e for the per formance o f the sexual

act but I learned several ci rcumstances that induced me
t o think some marital inaptitude ex iste d and in an inter
Vi ew which I subsequen tly had with her husband I found ,

fro m his own statement t ha t he was not a man o f very ex:

citable imagination —that he cared little fo r the dallian ces
o f a l ady s chamber o r the caresses of the o w ner herself
’

that he merely obeyed the occasional impulses of his own

nature and that he gave his companion his consent to con
,

sult me more with a view to relieve her own mind th an

il 8
,

1 .

am persuaded that mo st o f these cases are the result

I
o f a want of affecti on on the part o f the husband ; and this
may n ot always be caused by deficiency in him b ut hav
ing become united t o a woman that was not naturally a t
tent ive to him however much she may have been to others
, ,

he has been unable to fee l towards her the same warmth

and admiration w hich some oth er woman would have ex
cited in him I .

In the cas e n o w under consideration the marriage had

‘

bee n brought about by the friends of the parties The .

su itablen ess of the connection had bee n the mai n cause of

the un ion They were equal in point o f property and so
.

c ial standing Their ages were justly proportioned and

. ,

the parents of the parties had been long 1 acquainted with

each other T his was considered a suflic xe nt warranty for
.

them to come together and enter into that state which is ,

generally i ndissolub l e only by death . .

Nothing is more imprudent than marr iages formed on

s uch a basis P ersons bearing such a relati on t o each
.

o ther may be common friends, b ut that is a ll It not .

 32

frequently hap us that those who are we ll adapted to

each other in t e way o f marriage are strangers of d i ffer ,

ent walks in li fe and whose outward circumsta nces a re

,

extremely dissimil ar N o t o ne can choose for an othe r ,

’

an d friends and relatives exhibit no t only great indelic ac y ,

but a thorough want o f practical k npwledge who l ay

'

,
.

traps for young people in order t o bring ab out a marr i age .

My skill was appealed to , h o wever i n th i s case and i t

, ,

became necessary for me to do something My first ste p .

was secretly to advise the lady t o commence an ent ire rev

o lut ion in her dress — to procure clothing entirely d i fferent
from that which she had been accustomed to wear in t he
pres ence o f her husban d Her attire had been rather
.

plain S he now a ffected a gayety o f a pparel wh i ch trans

.
,

formed her outward appearan ce and gave her a sembl an c e

,

t o a fashionable woman o f the world She also assumed

.

a lightnes s and gayety o f manner that had been unusual

to her and moved more briskly
, .

I also gave the husb and some secret advice E ach of , .

them was sensible of a change in t he other altho ugh ,

neither knew by what magic it had b een brought about .

‘

The consequence o f all th is was that the family increased

— the o ld association of ideas broken up and they were
,

mutually fond o f each other ; at least t o a certain degree .

A sin gular case of this kind occurred within my kn owl

edge near Br istol some years ago A gentleman from
, , .

Liverpool had married a young widow lad y possessed o f

considerable property He fancied after his marriage ,
.
,

that the money was the most valuable part o f his bargain ;
and his feelings towards the lady were , at le ast indifferent , .

She had truly loved him and was a woman o f go od

,

features agreeable and well informed When

, ,
-
.

she perceived his indi fference it a ffected her deeply She .

seemed to have v entured all upon the c ast of a die an d to

.

have lost Thi ngs had gon e in this way several m onth s
.

when an old farmer a oor but shrewd man who had

'

known the lady from a ch

, ,
il d , advi sed a ruse , wh ich he im
 34

This time their in tervie w was prolonged and when the

pa rted for the night he t o ok the li b erty to kiss her h an d
?
.

She did not withdraw it and this fact filled him with the
,

most deligh tful hopes and kept him awake nearly a ll

,

uig ht .

O n the next day as usual the lady was on l y to b e seen

, ,

a t intervals as she pas sed through t he house o n her ,

we to and from her room and he scarcely got a g lim pse

,

of er coun tenance .

When evening came oar gentleman t ook care to visit

the gro vw —but alas "
,

the fair object o f his idolatry was

n ot the re He feared that she had gone home t o her
.

friends and early in the mornin g he consul ted the host

, .

The worth farmer told him frarllsly that he suspected his

attenti ons h a d been too pointed and that the lady had he , .

come alarmed in consequence o f it He was however .

, ,

assured that the lady s till remained at the farm h o us e of -

which indeed he soon after had ocular demonstration , as

, ,

she p as sed out at a side door into the garden .

That evening he strayed towards the grove in a h op e ,

l ess state o f mind believing that he had lost forever his

, , ,

chance o f h appin ess by his own rashness What then

, .

was his j oy to see the lady seated o n the st a mp of a fallen

tree apparently buried in reflection
, .

He advanced quickly to the spot and falling o n his ,

knees before her b egged that i f carried away by an i rre

, ,

s ist ib le admiration he had p res um ed t oo much upon her

,

forgiveness and her gentle kind a n gelic r ature , , .

‘
P ray rise sir said she ; ‘ this p osture is improper
’
, , , .

What encouragement did I ever give you to treat me as a

woman unengaged whose heart was free and whose hand
,

was at liberty ?
‘
P ardon m ada m l replied he but I love you ; and
,
’
,

when was l ove ever known to be prudent o r calculating ? ’

T he lady seemed coy but the gentleman wa s a rdent , ,

fi ery and enterprising The conse quence was that she at

.

length seemed to yield to her feelings and s ank into his

 35

a rms T he warm embrace that foll owed appeared to be

.
,

equally satisfactory to the lady and her lover and w hen ,

they parted for the ni it was amid kisses tears and ,

sighs that they v0

, et er nal fidel ity a nd a l ove that ,

kn ew n o bounds .

Al l that day the happy l over was rather shy o f the

'

farmer lest he should discover ho w fa r matters had gone

between him and the lady entrusted t o his guard ianship .

S ome little remo rse he felt t o o when he remembered,

the young and t rusty being whom he had left at home in

solita ry grief while he had en t ered upo n the enjoyment of
,

her propert y and wa s new lavishing his affect ions upon a

,

woma n whose only claim upon him was that she had
yielded up her honor to his solicitation s and placed her .

reputation en t irely in his power .

The meeting between the citizen and the unknown lady

n o w became frequent though the ir inte rviews were always
,

i n the evenin g O nce the gentleman sought to see her in

.
,

the aftern oon but she would not grant him an entrance to
,

her apartment which a fterwards she always kept locked

, , , .

She alleged as an excuse for her refus al that the farmer

, ,

would suspect how far mat ters had gone between them .

The gentleman was strongly at tr acted to the lady and

‘

delayed his return home o n account o f it He wondered .

who were her relatives a n d what was her name but she ,

gave him n o inform ation on the subject until at length , ,

he began to suspect that she was a married woman and

had some fears that the farmer would discover their amour
and expose him to her husband :
O n on e fine evening while they sat on a gree n bank
,

ab out half a m ile from the farm house conversing pleas

-

e ntly with his arm about her waist and the face o f the
, ,

L
ady t urm d p artly from hi m , as was his wont he said to ,

er
Alas 1 how unhappy I am in not having seen you before
’
I became united for li fe t o another .

And why should y ou be un ha ppy, my l ove ? sai d she .

 36

Have I not granted you eve ry thing that yo u cou l d ask,

even if I had been your lawful wi fe ? ’

Yes said he with a sigh ; but this may not las t a l

’
,
‘
,

ways I kn o w no t what other t ics may bind you for yo u

.
'

have told me nothing o f your history Perhaps that a .

husband ma
N o —no interrupted she If I had a husband I should
’
.
,

never be unfaithful to him .

’

I am glad to hear yo u say that returned the l over ; ,

’

yet I am only the more unfortuna t e because i f you a re ,

free there is an impediment in the way that prevents y o u

,

from being m ine We must meet in se cret I c a nnot

. .

openly be seen in your c ompany

t
E ven that cried he lady I wil l do if it W il l make
’
,
‘
,

you happier I will live with you Openly as man a nd

.

wife.
’

But my wife returned he You remember that I have

’
, .

o n e wife already and both she and her friends would be

,

enraged at such infidelity on my part .

’

N 0 sir, I think that your w ife woul d care n othing

.

about it and I am c ertain that her friends and relations

,

would highly approve of your conduct .

’

Why— no my love ho w you ta lk l Yo u must sup

,

pose that I have a very extraordinary wife .

’

Yo u are mistaken i n her sir She is n o t the woman , .

that y o u take her to be I am certain that she would b e

.

highly pleased at the intimacy between you and me .

’

The ge ntleman looked at the l ady as if he thought that

she had taken leave of her senses S he no w for the first .
,

time looked full in his countenance It stru ck him that

, .

there was something famili ar in the expression o f her face ,

though it was evening She smiled and still the resem
.
,

blance struck him forcibly She then pull ed a pa ir o f .

false eyebrows from her forehe ad and removed a few raven ,

lo oks from her forehead .

G ood heavens l cried he sta rting up It is Ange

’
, .

lina , as sure as I am a living man l ’

 37

Yes; my dear it is I answered she

,
’
, and do you now
think there is a ny objecti on t o o ur l iving t oge ther op enl
y
and before all the wo rld ?
None at all "cried the enraptured husband gl ad to ,

find that she wh o m he had so much adm ired and so dee ply
,
:

love d under a mask was his own wedd ed w ife whom h e

, ,

was at l iberty to ack no wledge b efore the wh ole worl d .

The farmer was soo n apprized o f the ed aircz ssem m t

’

and as he had been in the secret f r o m the first t he citizen ,

was glad to hurry home with his wife o ut of the rea ch 0 f ,

’

the o ld man s j okes and sly insinua ti 0 ns N othing ever

’
~
.

occ urred to mar the happ iness of t his c o uple ,who live d
man y years an d raised up a large fam i ly of chi ldren .

CH A PT E R VII .

W O M A N passes thr oug h ma ny cha nges S he is n ever

’
.

s tationary but may be c ompa red to a t ree put t iug forth

,
r
,

j ust the tender leaves then the blossoms and fina lly the
, ,

We see with plea sure ,w he n the buds begi n t o b umt,

,
'

the gree n ve rdure mingles with the brown hue of the

branches The in v igora ting warmth of the Spring causes
.

the whole to revive and put o n a smiling face We are .

enli vened o n b eholding this sta ge o f rising w omanhood

t
,

and participate in the j oys that they experience This .

agreeable impressi o n is prolonged b remarki n g the pro

gress which they make from day to ay until the moment ,

when the blos soms are co nfounded with the leaves beget ,

ting a soft ecstacy at the sight o f so singul ar a un ion o f

such enchanting bea uties .

Afterwards her beauties are full b l own and her irresis t ,

ible charms bear down everyth ing before them S he .

moves throug h the worl d a queen , and all he ar ts pay he m

age t o her b eauty .
 38

S uch is the destiny of

woman constantly chang i n g ,

from her bi rth but by a gradual and impercepti ble pro

,

gress so that her various lustres are n o m ore than so many

,

s hort solstice s an d although from o n e day t o another we

,

cannot define any change in her still she is never station ,

ary and nothing can be more just than t he parallel of the

,

enchanting ph ases through which she passes in her gentle ,

procession with the di fferent phenomena and modes o f ex

,

ist en ce which time and the season s produce in a t ree from ,

the first b udding the bl ossoms fruit and its apparently

, , ,

a n cn t state ; it s vari ous shades and suc c ess we tints

“

o f the leaves as compared with their fading o ld age an d

, , ,

fall ; nothing more e xact than t he tracing t he d ifferent

feelings o n e experiences not only when keeping the eye s
,

constantly fixed on the tree but viewing it also from inter

,
’
va l t o interval .

But supp osing this l ovel y tree u ndermined by some

secret influence by some very destructive cause all these
, ,

lovely aspe cts are interra ted A thin withered foliage .

is all that it presents it anguishes b ec omes barren a nd , ,

perishesfl
S uch is the gloomy fate o f t he young wom an wh o in , ,

order t o produce an imperfect and unsatisfactory pleasure ,

has recourse to artifici al mean s to create it i nste ad o f ,
waiting until a proper union is formed between her self
and some congenial yout h upon whom she can lavish the
,

rich treasures of her blooming nature , and shed the h on ey

ed sweetness o f her bre as t .

Inste ad of passing from o ne condition of beauty to

ano ther she will only graduate fr om o n e sta te o f decay to
,

a more melan chol o n e ; fo r as everything is conti n ually

chang ing Nature yas willed tha t there sh ould be n o ex
,

ce t io n s i n those imperceptible determ inati ons whi ch the

p
victims of solitary vi ce have exposed them selves to Thus .

do they anticipate o ld age with all its melanch oly aecom

,

pan iments ; thou h tha t co mes fast ehb ugh wi th ca re ,par

'

t ic ul arly t o femag
,
es .
 39

T he victims of this des truc tive habit do not part icipate

in the enj oyment of l ife being like the man in the para
, ,
‘

b le ex cluded from the marr iage feast becaus e they have

,

not on a wedding garment .

C HAPTE R VIII .

h now my painful task to furnish a few l etters that I

18 -

have received from those who have fallen a prey to the ia

jurions practice of masturbation In giving them to the .

reader I a m act uated by a desire to place t he young o n

,

their guard against o ne o f the g rea test evils to which they

can yield The c ry o f anguish from the sufferers them
.
‘

selves surely ought not to be without its effect upon all

who are tempted in like manner Nor have the writers .

g one beyond the b ounds of truth O n the contrary it is .

,

i mpos sible to te l l the o ne half .

The first letter is from a young lady of wealthy paren ts ,

who had been favored with a good education and all the ,

comforts and luxuries of the higher classes .

Lz n colns hire,
'

B
E AR S IR —
D It is with trembling that I take up the
'
‘

pen being both tra il in body a nd distressed i

,

Not hing could have induced me t Open my mind to you ‘

no t ev en the fear of death itself ha

cu"not first alluded
,

to the fatal cause o f my malady Much as I was shocked .

‘

by your abrupt manner o f alluding to it I forgive you ,

from my heart as I doubt n o t that a real regard for my

,

welfare as well as your profes sional duties prompted yo u

, ,

t o act in the manner wh ich you have don e .

T he horror of mind which I experience renders it a re

l ief to me to speak to some perso n o f my real state ,

though it wa necess ary that such person should fi rst make

s

it t he subject of discourse I could never have opened my

.
 40

li ps abo ut it to the most in tim ate fri en d , if the way had

not been first pa ved for me as yo u ha ve done
, .

When I first com menced the habit I was per etuall y

afraid of detection ; but I finally be came so muc p
,

accus
t o m ed to it that I was quite forgetful o f what the couse
q uen ces of my carelessness might be It was in that way
,

that yo u were a ssisted in discovering my se cret the dis c

closures o f the maid who had discovered s uSpic io us tokens

,

in my chamber left no doubt on your mind

,
.

In this place I ought t o mention that the caresses o f

the other sex are very unfavorable in their tendency to one
who is add icte d to the fatal habit Yo u have seen my
.

c ousin J am es — a rare spec imen of manly beauty it is ,

every where acknowledged Being a great favorite with

.

the ladies he is permitte d to indulge in l ib e rties which a

,

plain man would find it imposs ible to take without giving

offen ce He has been in the habit o f seiz ing upon me
. ,

whenever he caug ht me alone and p ressing my bosom t o

,

his kissing me vehemently o n the lips and expressing the

, ,

mo st ardent admiration o f my form He has sometimes .

contin ued this for half an hour together The c o nse .

q uen ce has bee n that t he mo st infla mmato ry thoughts have

passed through my brain my veins have seemed filled with
,

molte n lead and it was with great di fficulty t ha t I could

,
'

restrain myse lf from return ing his voluptuous kisses and

fa inting wit h excess o f passion in his arms .

Little does he kn ow w hat harm these in n ocen t caresses

d o to o ne whose mind is c ontinual ly filled with the m ost
libidinous ima ginings When, at length I have broken
.
,

away from his tormenting embr aces I have rushed to my ,

c hamber a nd there rioted for hours in the indulgen ce o f

,

th o se unnatural p as si ons and yield ed to those artificial de

,

light s for which he had made me burn t ill utter ex haus

ti on overcame me Being highly exc ited at the time I
.
,

was not se nsib le o f the ruin that would foll ow the in dul
g
ence It has seemed as i f I must quench the amorous fire
.

tha t he had e nki nd led in my swel l ing and panting bosom ,

 42

pre ved and my imagi nation pois o ned My thoughts by .

day are full o f the most lasciv i ous images and my n ightly ,

dreams are divided between the horrible and t he v o lupt u

o us
. La ss itude to tal disinclination to any kind of employ
,

ment a n ach ing weariness follows every exer t i on I have

,
.

pains in my head attendant with di zziness aching o f t he ,

eyes frequent pains in the stomach arms legs loins a nd

, , , , ,

chest .

‘
Although by the artific es o f dress I cont rive to hide my
,

rea l shape yet my wasted l imbs a nd the decay of tho se

,

swelli n g proportio ns which render a woman attractive ,

bear W i tness to the havoc which lo ng i ndulgence has mad e

wi th what charms I possessed o r might ha ve pos ses sed ;
,

an d these thi ngs destroy the hepe o f marriage tho ugh I ,

co n fess to you that were it c esible for me to recover

health and st reng th the idea 0 ente ring into a union with
,

the man whom I admired and becoming the m other o f a

,

n umerous offspring is too ra t uro us for expression

, .

B ut farewell to all such Opes My o wn suicidal hand

.

has w asted the stream o f happiness and I have but one,

wish —tha t death wi ll soon end my regre ts a n d my m isery .

I subscribe myself ,

Your grate ful tho unhappy ,

’
,

D A ’
. .

The above was an ext raordi case The unhappy .

youn g lady who write s thus was gi wi t h g reat natura l

‘

beauty and a strong mind but t o co unte rbalance the la t

ter she pos sesse d strong an d ex c ita ble fee lings , together
,

with a most fanciful imagination .

E arly in l ife she became a prey to t he vile habit T he .

destruction o f so fine a mind an d so beautifu l a body wel l

mi l t mak e the angels weep
i
Ir her lette r to me quot d above the youn l ady speaks
.

e
,

o f disclosures made by the servan t gi rl whio 1 enab l ed me

to fix with some degree o f certa inty upon the n ature o f

her complaint . A las "
t he unfortu nate c re ature l ittl e sus
 43

cted th at I had been empl o yed by her friends to visit

p gr because th at even they had be come well acqu ainted
with her inj urious habit Long b efore the discover ies
.
.

made by the hired ginl they had o btained the most direct
,
‘

insight into the cause o f her bodily and mental ailments .

E ve n that Cousin James of whom she speaks ha d been ,

one o f the first to fi nd o ut her fau lt having o n one occasion ,

entered s udde nly into a cham b er while she was en gaged in

the act with her clot hes raised But wit h p roper tact he
.
,

turned away his eyes be fore she discovered him and he ,

walked towa rds the ot her end of the roo m hu mmi ng a tu ne

as if he though t h ims elf alone S he had ti m e to adjust
.

herself before he tur ned and the n he gave a start as if he

,

had but j us t perceived her presence .

W hat l you h ere co us in ? Sgbid he in a tone O f 8 1 1 1 ;

,

pri se
.

The young lady l augh ed though a b lush covered her

,

face a n d nec k and she sa i d W hy , Cousin James I hav e

, , ,

bee n here ever si nce you ente red .

’

But t his y oung m an too k a strange way to cure his cou

sin o f her evil ha b it He p a id her much atte ntion and
.
,

caressed her as describ ed with the idea of forcing her

th oughts i nto a n at u ra l cha n n el " H is in te n tions wer e
,

honest eno ugh but ho w absurd to try t o heal a passio n by

,

the exhibitio n of zeal or a ffec ted pass io n on his part 1

I took Ja mes to task on the subject but the headstrong ,

b oy thought he kne w b est and was ambitious o f striking

,

o ut a n orig inal path in physic s .

I then appli ed to t he parents o f the young lady who ,

took my advic e and peremptorily forbade him to take

,

liberties with his unfo rtuna te cousin This gave a n o .

direction to his thoughts a nd he took a fancy t o fall in

,

l ove with her . H e made seri ous prop osals to her parents
fo r her hand .

I was cons ulted on the subje ct I conversed with James ,

.

an d told him that t he yo ung lady was n o t a proper sub

l h I di d not do ubt that i f she

j ec t for marriage a t o u
,g h
could be prevailed uponto forego her rui n ous habit for one
year she would be s uflic ien tly res to red to h ealth to become
,

the m other o f a fam ily .

In a week afterward I received the follo wmg n ote from

D A
.

Sm I regret that I am obl iged t o address you n ot as

a friend You have violated the most solemn pledges and
. ,

have betrayed a secret which you were bound to keep

most sacredly both as a man of honor and as a professional
, ,

gentleman entrusted by a patient who truste d you

,

W hat words can express my chagrin and astonishment ?

But I w ill n o longer spe ak in riddles You shall have the .

fac ts While I was sittin g in an arbor in the garden yes

.
,

t erday afternoon my c o us m James ab ruptly made his a p

,

pea ra n c e Taking my hand he began to talk in a ma nner

.
,

which covered my face with blushes He made a pro fes .

'

si on o f the most devoted love for me .

I felt — oh how deeply I felt the awful ruin that I had

brought upon myself S uch a declara t io n ha d I b een
.
, _
,

wort hy of him would have filled me with the most live ly

,

transports B ut with my ruined heart and depraved body

.
,

what could I be to him I was so overcome wi th these

.

reflections that ins tead of replyi ng to him I could only

,
'
,

burst into tears I hung my head and s obbed vio le n t l

.

P utt ing his arm around my wa ist he whispered e ,

lieve me de arest D
, I kno w all about that s o do n o t
”
dis tress ourself when there is n o cause
Al about what " said I no longer weeping s o great
.

was my te rror—
,

4 30 dreadful my apprehension .

”
Co ns ole yourself dear girl , c ried he
, it is not pas t
”
remedy .

My voi ce see med ch oked ,but I made o ut to say with ,

considera b le s teadin ess Are you going mad cousin ?

, ,

E xplain yourself You talk in .

Yo u perceive that I was de termi ned to know the wors t

He the n repli ed wi th some hesit ation ,
,
 45

—5
c ure£
35 d D fortunate hab i t is easily
3
0 0 1 3 90 3 w
a
70 1 1 1 7 un
,

I heard more It rew dark before me and I he

no . .
,

came insensib le to all eart ly objec ts .

Whe n recollection return ed I was in my o wn chamber , ,

'
and my mother was at my bedside weepin g
. I dared not .

l ook at her for how did I kno w but she also was aware
,

o f the dread se cret P ray sir ha d you n o t be tterput it

.
, , .

i n to t he Gazette ? It is a pity that so piquant a p ie ce of

in te lligence should be l ost to the g o od people of his M a
,

jesty s dominions and now I think o f it you mi ght t ur n

’

, ,

an hones t penny by s upplying the newspaper factors with

the whole hist o ry of a young girl who had ruined herself
by a rti ficia l subs titutes for la wful grati fication O h s ir i .

is thi s the ho n or o f a m an ? Is t his a gentl ema n ? D id

. .

y ou v olun te er t he information to my cousin Ja mes orl did ,

he ques tion y ou and offer a fee 2 for the s ec re t ? I hop

, e
he paid y o u w ell for t he news y o u had to tell him was so
imRo rtant—se valuable l
.

, ,
J

B ut enough sir M y happiness is doubly r uined and I

, .
,

feel t hat death is the o nl y solace left to me D A

,
. . .
’

T he conc l us ion o f this s ingular epistle see med to hi rit '

at s ui c ide and I r n i mmedia tely over to the house in

, , ,

much trepida tio n t was n one t oo so on In approaching

.
, .

the mansi o n I was oblig ed to pass a stream o r small river

whi ch , wi nding around a grove ran by the bottom o f the ,

orchard I sa w s o met hin g white on the bottom o f the

.
,

st ream I h astened o n till I b ecame convinced it was the

outer g arment of a femal e R ushing in t o the water I .

found that I had not been deceived I dragged the young .

l ady t o t he shore and laid her upon the grass In a few .

moments she opened her eyes languidly a n d gave me a ,

l ook of reproach and heartfelt angui sh w hich went to my

so ul .

I called her by name and told her n o t to look upon me , ,

’
in tha t manner I hav e never reveale d your secret said
. ,
 46

I .
Be comforted my dear girl for I have hepes th at all
, ,

W il l yet be we ll with you l

She smiled but it was such a smile 1 S o full o f reck '

lessness co m b ined with despair that I feared her r easo n

, ,

was gone forever .

I took her in my ar ms and conveyed her h ome I then .

ve directions that a carria g e should be brought to the (

oor a nd drove her to my house I kne w that shame

,
.

was at the bottom o f her present misery S he beli eved .

that her secret was known to all the household and to ,

hide herself from their scrutiny she had attemp ted sui ,

c ide . Therefore by conveying her to my house she

, ,

w o uld see only her physician in wh om she had co nfided , ,

and I should be able to bring to hea r every art o f wh ich ‘

I was maste r to alleviate her regre ts and restore her mind

,

to its proper tone .

She was in a listless almost insensibl e condi t ion and I

, ,

l eft her to repose a day o r t wo during which she was t oo ,

much depressed to have recourse to her fatal habits fo r I

had put her in a cha mber which was overlook ed by a
secret aperture above through whi ch I could see every
,

thing that passed wi thout being observed .

O n the third day she re vived somewhat ; and s tartin up

g
from the sofa on which she had lain she looked W i ldly ,

about her a few minutes as if wonderi ng where she was:

,

P erceiv ing that she was entirely alone and imagi ni ng ,

herself to be unobserved s he mechanically prepared to ,

abuse herself I hurried down stairs and rapped sma rtly

.

at the door of the chamber I heard a sudden start and .

a rustling of cl othing and having paus ed a few moments

, ,

I Opened the door and entered ,

She looked vexed at the i nterruption but endeavored ,

to hide her cha gr in .

'

Doctor how c am e I here ? were her first words

,
’
.

Have you n o recollection o f past events ? said I ’

.

Think a moment ’

S he thought som
.

but it was evident that she

e minu tes ,
 47

co uld no t recall the events o f the last three days A t .

’

l engt h she sa id I do remember of being startled by the

,

behavior of my cous in , and t hat remi nds me sir that -

, ,

you
N
’
my dea r girl interrupted I ; you are mistaken
ay , , .
‘
I have n o t betrayed my t rus t Your cousin dis covered .

your failing by dint o f his o wn sagacity .

’

‘
D readful cr ied she turni ng very pale , .

Not so dread ful as y o u suppose my dear He is sorry , .

for your misfortune but I am confident that he thinks

,

none the less of you ’

Yes sir but what an exp os ure I Do you think that I

,

o uld ever look Cous in James in t he face again and

p'

l ve
,

I to ok the hand o f the young lady and said gently , , ,

Yo u believe there is a S upreme Being I kno w you do . .

N o w my girl all i nfract ions of his laws are attended

, ,

with more o r less evil It is a truth that the way o f the

.

tra nsgressor is hard and you must expect to endure the

’
,

penalty I have told you that your cousin does not des
.

ise you .O n the contrary , he loves y o u with a true and

o n o ra b le love You state in your note to me that to be
.
,

"
his wife would give you the greatest happiness but you
also state (and I acknowledge truly that such a one as
you is n ot fit to be the w ife o f an honorable man Such .

a o n e as y o u are n o w I mean Is it not then worth ,

.
'
, ,

your while to make a n attempt at reform I truly beli eve .

that i f y o u will place yourself in my hands and obey me ,

implicitly y o u may be cured o f your f ault and may be

, ,
’
rendered worthy of your cousin .

She shook her head It is a dream—a mere dream

.

th at is never to be reali zed sir I never can be anything , .

in this world
’
.

F or n e t her hour I plead with her and finally prevailed

upon t h
,

e poor g irl to submi t to my authority a nd to

re mai n fo r six months at my hous e

"
.

( N ow, that I had give n my consent sa i d

 48

Wi thdraw if yo u pl ease , ti l l evening , as I have much t o

think o f .
’

I left her b ut repaired im inedi ately to my p ost of ehser

,

"
vation as I was apprehensive that she had an object in
,

being alone I soon d isco ve red that I was correct I

"
.
.
,

t herefore interrupted her agai n

,
She re minded methat I .

had consented to l eave her till night G ive me t h i s after .

.

noon to myself said she bes eechingly, and e ver a fter I am

’
, , ,

at your di sposal
N o my girl replied I will find it as difficult t o
’

y o u
obey me on every afternoo n as yo u do t o—
, ,

d ay We mu st .

strike n o w ; W e must act o n the moment N erve your self .

to the tas k and in a few days you will be as toni shed at

,
’
the ease w ith which your arch enemy is vanquished -
.

She saw that I unde rst ood her motive for wishing t o be
‘

al one and cheek bosom and b r ow became as red as

, ,
'

s carlet .

From that mo ment eith er myself or my wi fe was con

,

t inually in her pres ence She left with my wife E very

. .

day she took a cold bath and as she grew stranger I a o

-

, ,

c om panied her o n walks abro ad which gradually beca m e ,

lo nger and lon ger .

To be brief ih six month s D A was a blooming gi rl ,

, , . .

plump a nd lively I then gave ermiss io n to her cous in

. .

to call and see her once a 'wee and at the end o f a ,

year from the time she ca me to live with me he led her ,

t o the altar .

She became the wife of her co usin James an d is n ow

'

living in the enj oy ment of fine he alth and has t hree rosy -

b ovs and is a most happy w o man

, .

iBut I would not have the read er supp os e that this

Vi ctory was worn without a severe struggle
o

The m ost
‘

painful self d en ial on the part of the young lady the

-

mos t rigid attention t o t he rules laid do W n and p er pe tua l ,

w a tchfulness o n the part o f mw

i n order to bring about so
elf and wife were required
satisfact o ry a result S o
,

a ully inve terate is this vi ce when once i t obtai ns a fo o t

 50

gent l eman S o f aint d we k ha ve I be c ome tha t

dical an a

it is with great difficulty that I can wallm a hund red steps

without f requent pa use w il n my chest an d shoulders "
have severe shoo t ing pains particularly in the afternoon s
,

and ni g hts My appetite is voracious and this causes me

. ,

asiness ; a s I sutfer f rom severe mai n s ia th e

‘

g
reat une - l
'

stomach after eating M y e yes ache i nt o ler ly i f I re ad

'

a
.

fo r but half a n hour In sp i te o f all my a ttem pts t o

.

‘
w
l

p r s t e fi ii mys e lf i i g v nt t de d a '

h m I e r n s
e s ; n l
g v n e o p
Had I n ot been r es traine dl b y" fl igi om L s hould l on g
'
'
re

ere th is have term inated a i rlifeitt ha t has b eec md b urd en t o

some to me by my o wn f aul t r " .

’

In fact it would be impossib le t o c on ceive a more

‘
' l
,

hope l ess s tate of existenc e t hanthat o fawhich I am about

,
'

to d es cri be the l as t scene ; and the f ear : o f ad din g bne

'
‘ '
-
'

crm i e t o anoth e r w a s, no d e ub t the- on ly feel in g t ha t l re= o

strained t he person who wa s so c ruelly punishe d from

-
.
'

'

closi ng her mortal c areer thus e arly

'

Itl is stil l the c ele b rated D o ctor Tissot wh o rel ates the
‘

fact and I will l eave him to speak lfor hi mself

'
.
,
‘
The disease at first only showed itself in this young
woman by slow and dai a t fo r ma ny m ont hs ,

ante cedent stand upon her l egs ,

d hands the dis

her voice so tha t -

xtensor muscle s

had the greates t

hris t m as she was
and her

[3
ough even ,then her head
every moment woul d fall upon her b bso m and she never
W as without some o ne clo se at ha nd "t o change her at ti
i
 51

t ude aise heir head , feed her giv e her snuff and listen at
, r ,
‘

,
'

ten t ively to al l her requests T he last days of her life she

‘

'
was ind uced t o speak letter by letter which were written
, ,

down as she muttered them .

’

In order not to fatigue you too much with such a ffl icting

disco urse I have never given you any of the lette rs fr om
,

thes e unhappy patients at full leng th but only Such ex ,

tra cts as I w ished to impress upon you I will therefore

‘
.
, ,
as shortly as possible su b m it a n extract or two from oth er
,

l etters addressed by the patients them se l ves to their phy

s icians an d published by D oc tor D o ussin D ubreuil who
, , ,

in so doing was guided only by the best feelings

,

T he first extract is that o f a letter wr itte n to D octor

D ous s in D ub rueil himself, and gives an instance when epi .

l epsy was the result of the error o f solitude no

When about twelve years o f age , I was troubled wi th '

.

ai ns in the head , a nd t he se nsatio n o f Ia we igh t upon the

p
l

rain; for which I was b le d , and hept on lo w d iet without

'
‘ ' -

ex perien cing much relief and so on a ft er I was surprised ,

'

by a n atta ck of wh ich I the n became subject ,

havi ng had a very severe o n e recen tly Indeed sir I can

‘

.
, ,

n ot de ub t b u t that it is ow ing to an evil hab it w hich I

‘
'

contracted when very young t hat I am so ner vous that I

'

can ha rdly m o ve and the smallest object t errifies m e even

'
, ,

the thre ats of a child n et more than ten y ea rs o f age quite

‘

unnerve me a nd I am unable to apply myself t o anythin g

’

, ,

as the least constra int of m ind br ings on a fit

‘

The n ext extract furnishes an ex ample of repeated

nervous attacks ,with the falling down and rigid ity of t he ,

nerves of the patient Vi

‘The following is the
d iscription that has been g i ve n to
“

me of‘my fits I stamp v iolently o n t he floor a n d the n

.

'
,

fall with my limbs st ifien ed t eet h c len ch ed and the end

‘

, , ,

of my t ongue thrust b e t ween the incisive teeth

'

My face .

and hands become livid and no d oubt sir my unfortu nate

'
, , ,

fa te is t he r es ul t o f those murderous self indulg ences with -

 52

which I frequently so ught to g ratify m ysel f as b efore that ,

I enjoyed an excellent state of hea l h W t h was evinced

by the fres hness o f my com lexion "
.
,

The third shows the pro p

.

abili ty of a d i seased peri c ar

d ium the membrane that enclo ses the heart
,
.

I a m very thin but shou ld nevertheless be in the en

,

joymen t of good health were it n ot for sundry pains

,
’

I feel one in particular in the mte rio r of the body ne ar

, , ,

the left shoulder which 1 fear will cause my death si nce

, ,

it is in that part that surrounds the heart

’
.
-

The fourt h extract gives an example o f e x cessive

p ams
As I mentioned to you my morals were entirely pure
, ,

and my health seemed to be unalterable till I was fiftee n ,

years o f age and never c an I reflect o n the happiness I

,

then enjoyed without feeling the b itterest remorse Had

,
.

I but listened to the g ood co unsel o f an other young girl

who m I myself wi shed to corrupt and who at on c e re ,

ulsed the propositions I made to her I should never have

p
,

allen into the pitiable state I have been i n for the last te n
Whe n lyi ng full l ength o n my bed o r the sofa the ,

p ai ns I experience in all my limbs makes me scream o ut

i n such a manner as to se t the persons about me shudder
,

ing frequently involving the dear relatives who surround

,

me in co nstan t alarm and no doubt my presen c e is fa t ig u

,

ing to them I am so thin that you may count all my

.

g
e nes indeed I have scarcely the appearance o f a human
,

emg .

The fifth extract sho ws an affl iction o f the b owels and

sto mach
My stomach is always gr umbling as i f the bowe ls were ,

detaching themselves from e a ch other The principa l .

diseas e is in the stomach which as I told y ou bef or e, will

, ,

not digest anything .

’

And the sixth extract is to the same effect showing ,

the probable nervous a ffection of the bowels
At other times there is a numb nes s and pains in the ,
 53

s tomach as ,if m bowe l s ‘

tvere all tight ened up ( and ’

s tr on l y com
e s is an example of intern al heat and
th e fee l ing o f ins e cts gnawing
Whe n in my dreams I become involunt arily guil ty o n
,
,

awakening I begi n t o feel an inte rnal disea se im partin "

, ,
o'

the most horrid pains which in creased more and m ore , .

A s b esid es feeling a dreadful hea t y which appe ars to be

con suming t he spi ne o f my back my stomac h a nd ribs ,

have the sensatio n of being gnawe d by i nsec ts a n d justly ,

al armed at so d eplor able a condition,I think it my duty

'

to acq uaint m D octor with it .

’

And a litt e further o n in the same lette r she says , ,

My voice is hoarse and I cough night and day with a

, ,

slight fever that is always i ncreased on a repetition o f my

errors I have moreover ag ue fits and I c a n neither read
.
, , , ,

walk and my memory is ent irely gone

, .
’

Many other letters have been written to me o n the ,

same s ubject that is ,

"
seeking immediate advice a nd assist
,

ance A mid an immense n umber that have been written

.

by the sa me person I will only sho w yo u a few pass ages

,

from three the first and the last pa rticularly written at

, ,

seven month s intervals , by whic h t he duration and t he

' '
'

degree o f resistance o f t hes e ,d se es wh c spring from

i as i h?»

1 "
suc h causes ma be seen
E xtr act o f a le tter 2 d D ecember 1 81 6
.
,
“

, ,
‘
This fearful h abit has reduced me to a most fright ful
condition I have not the slightes t hope of living for
.

another year and am in cons tant al arm as I see death

,
‘

approaching with rapid s teps I .

fo r any prol ongati on o f li fe I may

few heal thy germs that are still le ft ill be
by your skill and m y zea l your advice
‘

, ,

st rictly
m
.

‘
;I
hav
e fo r a long
, t i e past been a f
fl icted with a weak
,

ness ; that has bee n constantly increasing W hen I get

in the morning I am for a short time exp osed to a g i dt i p
.

, , ,
 54

no
e s, and all the j oints o f my bones rattle just l ike the
shaking of a skele ton ; and occasional ly o n getting out ,

o f bed my nose bleeds and I am seized with a spitting of

, ,

blood and t his notwithstanding every care and cauti on

, ,

the blo o d o n such occasions be in g s o metim es free and

somet imes clot ted ; and th is is followed by such nervous
at ta cks that I c a n scarcely move my arms and t hen my
, ,

lim b s beco me as it were n umbed aecom an ic d by pains

, , ,

o f the hea rt the quantity o f blood whi o I discharge as ,

I have me n tioned ha s latterly increased My l imbs are

,
.

small and I a m neither fat nor tall I derive but l ittle

,
.

nourishment from what I take and frequently feel a sharp ,

pricking pain at the pit o f my stomac h a nd betwee n my ,

shoulders which creates great d ifficulty in breathing

,
.

For three months past I have su ffered a constan t agitation

,

in my li m bs which seems to b e produced by the circulati on

,

o f the blood G oing up only a few st airs o r walking the

.
,

shor test distance is followed by great fatigue and I am

, ,

troubled wi t h sh ivering fits especially in the m ornin g ,

.
’

E xtract of a further letter from the same pati e nt in the ,

following February
I am now in my twenty firs t year and dread the effects -
,

of s ring ; my skin however is n ot so parched and heated

, ,

as ereto fo re My arms are very thin and my veins ai

.
,

most imperceptible ; they seem n o longer t o have any blo od

in them Notwithsta ndi ng all my care I fear I never shal l
.
,

ec o ver a healthy consti t ution o r get any flesh upon my

gones
,

‘
It appears to me for some time past I have become
b ent and s t ee pin g , and I suffer from constant persp irations
at the back .

My blood is stil l strangely agitated an d whether l yi ng ,

down o r standing the circulat ion o f it and my pulse create

,

constant excitement particularly about my l imbs and head

,

and when I lean do n at all , I a m immedia tely troub l ed

w
with dea fness I have a lso a slight cough , but I thin k
.

very little of that ’

.
 55

T his yo ung girl deceived hers elf That which she mistook .

for a mere c o ugh , was the com menceme nt of an a ffe ction

o f the chest and organs of the voice which seldom fail
, ,

beirig inj ured parti c ularly with young girls who have fallen
,

into those fata l habits which reduced this lady t o the de

,

plorab le cond itio n she has so strik ingly and en ergetic a liy
‘

depicte d .

She had previ ously ac quainted me that her stomach had

di scharged for some time sma ll concretions s imilar to
, , ,
'

crum bs o f bread that were of exceedingly bad odor These

, .

came very probably from the chest a nd are sometimes the ,

forerunners o f cons umption .

Fearing that her letters might miscarry an d t ha t it , ,

wo uld there b y become known that she was corresponding ,

with me (a fea r that is always carried to a great extent

"
,

especially in such complaints this young girl always re,

sorted to some artifice in writing to me th at she mig ht not ,

be known t o any o ne but myself S ometimes she did not .

l im it herself to writing anonym o usly but sometimes wrote ,

as from an an onymous person and it was in this manner

t hat she l ast wrote to me for advice an innocent art ifice ,

whi ch eloquently and openly con demns the vice and is the ,

best eulogiu m of good m orals Virtue neither seeks to .

,

show nor conceal herse lf ; but to act as the person in

question has done is a plain proof that she d ees not des
,

p ise virtue and ,at the same time exh ibits a sorrow that
she ev er forsook her paths .

In another letter dated not long afterwards the write r

“

, ,

says : ‘ Sir since last writing to you some little change

, ,

for the better has taken place w ith resp e ct to M adem o if

sell e whom y o u are at t ending I saw her a few .

days ago and she requested me to acquaint you that she

,

had rega ined so me strength by carefully attending t o y our

advice She is still however troubled with bleedings at
. ,

the n ose though she has only had two sl ight irritations of
,

t he description she spok e of withi n the last fourte en w

, eeks,
whi ch disappeared without havi ng recourse t o m ed i cine
‘
.
 56

S he does n ot om plain so much e rfatigue n ow alth ough

'

c ,

shive ing tits los f b l d b the n se c on t m ue '

her r and s o o o y o .

the ame and h h so m he ns mns t hat she

o st
re
s s e ,
a s e a pp
never be entirely free from them S he tel ls me that .

her l ips when she gets up in the morni ng are ve ry wh ite ,

and that sundry red sp ots are perceptible i n her e yes W h i ch ,

somet imes speed ily disappear while at others they last tha
, ,

whole day and she generally looks very Ill , and i s als o
, '

very hoarse ; also that whenever she eat s fruit she

, ,

unpleasant tw itches in the stomach that impe de her ,

.

freely breathing The spots in her eyes aimO y and dis tur b
.
_
.

her much .
’

and agitation of wh ich th i s pe r80 n

'

‘The 'shivering .

makes frequent complaint and whi ch she seems to a ttri-r

,

bute to the circulation o f her blood a re merely sympt o m r ,

s
-

ati c o f a nervous irritation and t he extreme weakne ss of

,

the nerves Hefl b leeding at the nose and spitt i ng o f bl o od,

.

notwithstanding its dim inution and some other sy m o ms,

though betokening the return o f st rength and tpred
,
=
,
Z
spots in t he eyes :may yet have some remote tenden cy t o a .

‘
scorbutic complaint ; and as this c omplaint exists in hel
'

'
family it has n o doubt b ee n d eve lo ped in her by he r l in
,
a
f

happy secret propens ities .

E xcesse s of fever were often the results o f secret vi cious .

habits in persons corrupted early I do n ot c o nfin e m y .
'
: .

self to those excesses in which all m oral feel ing is lo s t;

As to a nlo ro us mel ancholy it has also b een named by
'

.
,

many physicia ns a morous madness ’ T he m in d is i n fa ct ,

, u ,

more o r less affecte d m any of its faculti es are i nd eed so .

hi hly exci ted tha t the patients then only really d iffer from
,

o t er maniacs as reg ards the cause of their m ad ness T he .

female constitution disp oses to it Almost e n ti rely de s l .

‘
-

tined by Nat ure t o co nceive and cherish nought b ut tam

'
.

der afleb tion intended rathe r for a life o f comfort than of 7

'

p a i n of tranquillity than of agitati on and distr acti on th ere

,

1 8 fo r woman —and particularly for some women —b ut one

,
 58

hair had been p l aced in an educational establishm ent

,
,

where the most bril liant future whe re t he b rig htm t pros
,

peets were always o ffered to those who en tered i t So me .

time after her marriage she saw a young man o f a more

, O

elevated rank than her husban d She was immedi a tely ,

.

smitten with him she murmured ag ai nst her lo t and ,

spoke o nly of her husband with con t mpt e

.

‘
S he refused to live with him and a t le ngth took a de
,

cided aversion n o t only to him but to her o wn paren ts

, , ,

who vai nly endea vored to cure her of her caprice The .

disease increased i t was n ecess ary t o separate her from

her husband ; she spoke i nc essantly o f t he o b jec t o f he r
'

p as sion she became d ifficult to please capri cious and pas ,

»

sio na te She escaped her parent s h ouse to run after him

. ,
’
.

S he wa tched him everywhere ; she called for him in her

impassio ned songs ; he was the greatest the m os t witty , ,

the most am iable the m ost perfect of men

, S he asser ted .

tha t she was his wife ; that she had never k nown another
husband It was he who lived in her heart who direc ted
.
,

its move m ents, who governed its t hought a wh o ru le d over ,

its actions S he had had a child by hi m wh ich sho uld be

.
, i

as accomplished as its father S he was frequently sun .

rised in a ki n d of ecstacy a n d ravishi ng thought than

p er gaze was fixed and a smile was o n her lips She
, .

frequently addressed letters to him She made v erses .

,

which she filled with the most amo rous e xpressions she
copied them frequently and with great care T he n 11
, .

they expressed the most violent passion they were at t ,

sa me time a proof o f the most perfect vir tue W he n she .

went o ut she walked briskly as i f she were engaged on

, ,

bus in ess ; o r els e she woul d walk sl owly an d ha ughti ly

'
.

S he av oi ded men a ll o f who m she despis ed and pla ce d fa r

. ,

b eneath her lover Neverthele ss she was n ot always ia

.
,

d i fferent to any mark o f inte rest displ ayed towards her ; a nd

“

to any overtures made to her she Op posed t he n ame the

, ,

merit the q ualities and per fections of hi m whom she ad ored

, , .

O ften duri ng the day and night she would ta l k to herself

, ,
 59

sometiim s al oud and some tim es i n a l ow tone S ometimes .

she we pt some t im es she smiled ; someti mes she was angry

,

with herself in her solitar y cen versat io ns If she was told .

' '

of her loquac i ty she assured them she was compelled to

,

Speak . M ost freq uently i t was her lover who conversed

with her by means o nlyk nowu to S ometimes
she b e"
, .

levad t hat i ndivid uals jealous of her happiness en ,

deavo red to mar it by breaking up t hese in terviews and

'

. r
,

by str ik ing her (I have see n her al most furious , shriek

"
.

ing and declaring that she had just been struck Under .

other circu mstan ces her face became red her eyes spark
, ,

l ing ; she could not recogn ise her parents or her friends
she w as furious and a tt empted to? c om m it the greatest ia
,

juries T his state sometimes cont inued for t wo three

.
, ,

eight or fiftee n days s he would the n feel most agon izing

,

pains at the epigastrium and about the heart These ,

.

pains which w ere c o n cen tra t ed at the precord ial regio n

"
.
,

(the pit o f t he stoma ch whic h she could not support

,

without t he strength communicated to her by her lover ,

were as she said caused by her paren ts and her friends

although they were several i lea gues dis tant—or by those
, ,

wh o at t ended her .

‘
Any great appearan ce c f compulsion o r force overawed
her ; she wo uld then turn p ale t re mble—a flow o f te ars ,

would ter minate the at ta bk .

’

Th is lady reasonable und er all other circumstanc es

,
.
,

worked was perfectly capable of managing her domestic

arran gemen ts " s he did j ust ice to her husband s mer it and
’
,

to her pare nt s affectio n ; but she could not see the former
’

n or live with the latter Th is state was not ; brought o n

‘

her by any previous der angem e nt of health The par . .

o x ys ms of fury sometimes took place at t he period of m en

st ruat io n but n ot always
, Her appetite was capricious
. ,

and all her actions partici pated in the disorder of her de

lirio us passion She slept but little ; her slumber was
.

disturb ed by dreams an d nightmare She had frequent .

fits o f watc hfulness ; and when she did not sleep , she
'
'
 60

wal k ed about talked to hers el f and su ng This s tate of

, ,
.

'
th ings continued for many years A car s c ourse o f
’

treatm ent isolation tepid and cold bat s douches anti

— —
, , , ,

spas m o dic s both externally and i n ternally not hing -

could restore her to reason The physi ci ans wh o report .

“

these two cases do n o t s ay whether t he patien ts were

guilty o f secret breaches of the vows o f m odesty ; more
tha n one fact however makes us think thi s to be t he
, ,

case with the forme r .

C HA P T E R IX .

SO M E GE N ER A L RE M A R"S O N M A S T U R B ATI O N .

In works re l ating to the subject under n otice the des ,

cripti c a of the vice may possibly intimate; for the first

tim e to the innocent its exis tence ; but as it is one which
,

assails if it does not triu mph over a ll on the ante side of

, ,
-

uberty surely a d escription o f the c o nse ac a ece o f its

p ,

i ndulgence cannot aecom any the detail thout its de

t erring influen c e T he rightful effects although with
.
,
'
some slo w in their progress whi ch befall the idolater of
, ,

the practice o f O nanism should n ot be hidden from those

,

who are about to o r may have already commenced the

,

baneful practice .

Few can express s o forcibly the l amentations o f repen t

ance remorse and despair as those who have found them
, , ,

selves when too late shut out as it were forever from

, ,

those rewards o f womanhood deprived of a sense o f that

wh ich makes life the elysium it can be rendered ; few I ,

obse rve can convey so t rue a history o f their desolate

,

cond i ti on as the actual victim of this luckless ind ulgence

, ,
.

Chapter writers usually when describing O nanism bind

-

, , ,
the wo rd with such da m n ing epithets that deprive t he
. ‘
,

hapless v i c t im o f the habit (perhaps hitherto u nco nsc ious

 61

of its demoral izing an d d eath n e

-
tende n cy of all
they al most
so that ins ,

exercise o f t which she is

appellation of woman Bad repreh ensible un wor t hy
.
, , ,
and demoralizi ng as this error may be it s condemnat ion ,

would be better secured by the more charitable portrayal .

o f its resu lts .

The intention o f this book has already been explained ,

e lse the less often tresp ass upon this unhall owed ground
had bee n
It is a subject rarely al luded to in conversation because ,

a knowledge of it presupposes such to be practical and

who is desirous of criminating herself ? Medical p ublica »

tio ns offer the only arena where such matters may be tol
crated ; and even the writers thereof have been s cr upulo us
in meddling therewith l est they inc ur a si milar insin ua
,

tion .

The suppression of this habit appears to have been l eft

to the wa t chfulness o f pare nts who k n owin g what may ,

have led to the first false step in themselves endeavor to ,

avert t he same in the ir children a n d so far the practi ce

'

might be somewhat kept under but when we recol lect

the vast increase o f population the e arly period at whi ch ,

youth are from necessity sent to school and there left Open
, , ,

to example or compelled to intermix with others the nu

,

mer c us snares and temptations prese nted to them in lar e

civilized towns all the watchfulness in the world will ge
,
'
insufficient to keep ofl the habit or to suppress or contro l ,

such when on ce acquired The secret of a n illusive grati

_
.

fication is soon discovered to be so practicable and plea

enrab le as to appea r a mine of inexhaustible del i ght
, . .

Correction is in vain it is a habit that c a n only be era di

os te d by an e arly and forcib l e repr esentation of its fatal
6
 62
‘

conse q uen ces when i f they be unheeded the youn g sen

, ,
.

s ua list will too soo n have t o regret the real i zat i on o f tha t
she might have avoided .

I will consider, in detail t he pernicious and devastat i ng

,

consequences of the indulgence in the habit o f selfrpo llu ‘

ti o n and then particulari ze the modus o era n di o f bri n ing

about so dire a result In the first pp
,

. ace it dem or fu r ,

the m in d it is a pra ct i ce which every person would

blush to in dulg e in publ z cl o r rf sh e thou g ht s he were sus
'

eeled be in g g ui lty Oh t is a m isappropriat i o n

p
u r oses f or which we were d estined : it 23 a weakn ess d» :
p p
e d i r n z ty of a human bean g ; ti i mped es the
.

r o a tor
’

g y to th
g
z m o rta n t o rg a n s I
f
rowth, n ot o n ly o the bod y g m
t
wrally , but of m drmdu a l a n d
checks the developm en t a n d dera n g es
p .

the stru ctu re .It produ ces prema ture debili ty it g wea ‘

a ins i n the lo ins ; it es ta bli shes g en era l wea kn ess , a n d m

p
du ces even co n s um t ro n ; an d it is certa in , f con tin u ed, to
'

p rod uce I M PO IE
‘
C E T w
/ m ental fa cu l ies es cape n ot ;
. ;
the m in d becomes f a tu ilous ; the very sens es impe rfect in
their a ction ; and the whole economy o f nature becom es
perver te d .

O f all the dangerous grat ificat ions that strew the path
from youth , none are so mischievous as the indulgence in
O nan i s m It unhappily o ff rs two powerful inducements
.
e

it can be practiced in seclusion and its e ff cts on the ,

e

health and appearance (unlike those produced b y drunk

a night s revelry or any other a ppet it al excess
"
’
e n n ess , , ,

which tel l their talc next day from the i ns i dious manner ,

in which the undermining proc ess is going on can be a t , ,

least for a wh ile i f not entirely at al l events partiall y

, , ,

concealed U n fortunately why the habit is so prevalent

.
,

is because the evil consequen ce s are at kn own and c o n

fi
,

se que ntly not anticipated It is fo llj o mince the matter

. .

There is n o doubt that it is m ost exte nsively indul ged in .

H ow few persons indeed can deny the imputati on o f hav

ing o ne time or o t her given way t o it "T he studen t or
, ,

, ,

divine are n ot exempt nor are those wh ose exemp l ary and
,
 63

moral cond uct might refute such a char ge if suspic ion ,

were the o nl y accuser .

No prac ti ce exercise o r occupation so disturbs the

, ,

free a nd equal circulat ion of the blood in the brai n as

masturbation The blood may be quicken ed in partie n
.

lar parts of the system without the whole circu lation

part icipating in such a disturbance but whe n that is the
case the neighboring parts to those aff c ted are defieiently
,
e

supplied and consequently their functions become per

,

verted or temporarily pa ra liz ed We kn o w not h ow the .

"
communicatio n betwee n the cerebellu m (the supposed reg
ula t o r of t he a m it ive feeli n gs is conn ec ted with the
organs referred to but we do kno w that the hind part of
,

the head ind icates by certain symptoms s uch as heat o r

, ,

pain and phrenolog ieally speaking by size and form the

, , ,

sta te and character o f the genital organs and we further

know that whe n these orga ns are in a state o f undue
,

ex citement o r disease t heoc ireula t io n of the blood in

,

the cereb ellum is disturbed ; and if increased the other ,

parts o f the brai n receive a less supply and if di m inished , ,

the contrary Hence arises a n a ltered actio n in some

.

parts o f the brain to the detriment of the proper and

,

correct worki of its functions : the e ffects are sad

estrangemen ts rom healthful f elings T he perceptive
'
e
.

and reflective fac ulties abiding in the anterior and up p r e

part of the brain become weakened o r deranged a nd

, ,

he nce a ll morbid se nsations that harass the sensualist .

We are capable of enduring a certain amount o f fatig ue

o r enj oyment day by day the excess o f o ne may be
,

relieved by rest on the second ; but it is impossible to

overt ax o ur capability and no reaction c a n be command
,

ed W e know the vas t complication of organs engaged

.

in a single phenomena o f perception reflection or bod ily ,

movemen t ; b ut they are obedient to natural demands .

Le t us t hink for a moment how we overstretch o ur po w

ers when we are obliged to call all our imag ina t i n to ai d
,

us In pr od ucing a sen s ation tha t ins t inct proper y,di rec t

 64

ed could furnish in an instant without l abor or fatigue ;

but which when sought for as it is by a process at vari
, , .

ance with the recogn i zed not ions of decency and recti t ude ,

tends o n"to injure the fa bric that contains t he th i nk i ng

man T e practice may be traced to the earl iest per i o ds
.

o f youth It may certainly arise from con gen i tal preco

.

city : the ch ild may acqu ire the practice W i thout exam
ple ; but it is more frequently a failing acqu i red by
tuiti on Sir Will iam E ll is mentions a case of a ch i ld
.

reduc ed to a state bordering o n idi ocy produced by soi l ,

tary indulgence at ten years of age ; and cas es have

been known where the pract i ce has been pursued by
ch ildren o f more tender growth .

The ro b ab le period when this habit is learned is

when t e girl is sent to any large boarding sch ool at ,

the age of twelve o r fourteen years o r at the period ,

when she begins t o associate with other girls of her

‘no strain 1 1 on our belief t o
o wn standing It requires
.

trace the ha b it to example and pro b e ly most readers

,
'

will agree with me tha t vices o f this sort once learnt ,

, ,

are with immense difficulty only left o ff They say that .

a reformed rake makes the best h usband a pen itent ,

thief the bes t thief taker and the most skilled in ba d

-
,

ha bits the best preacher : be it so ; o f this fa c t we may

be ce rtain that without experience of the ex t ent t o
,

which the practice o f masturbation is carried —that ,

without having witne ssed its direful e ffect s upon con

st it ut io n s that otherwise might have vied with the pa
triarchs of old — that without having an inte rest in
promulgating the fearfu l consequence s—and that with
,

o ut being able to dete ct in whom the bane is worm ing

it s mischief to the very core o f womanhood s proper

’

ties—such a erson had better dip his pen in stainless

fluid than bp
, at the paper with mere denun ciat ions '

against the evil and wit h moral aphorisms on the c o n

,

se quen ces To crush so devastating a habit the picture

.
,

shoul d be drawn as it really is A s a se t o fi agains t

'

. f
 66

som e of the secrets of my own consul ting close t al tho h

deviating somewhat from m y original intent i on o f wit
holding entirely personal incidents and m ak i ng thi s httle ,

affair a work of general application ; yet from the accu ,

mu lat io n of facts illustrative of the position here put forth

‘

that have presented themselves for observation in the

course o f my practice I am desirous rather o f foregoing
,

former designs and yielding to what evidently best expla i ns

,

the subject I need scarcely remark that every other

. ,

evidence by which the individuals alluded t o herein beyond

‘
,

the substance of their confessions may be ident ified has , ,

been and will be forever withheld

,
.

M a y o f the dra ma tz s persona: live to l ament the fol l y

’

o f the ir precocious and long practiced intemperance -

while there are others who th ough they may blush at re

,

cogniz ing their own avowals yet have to rejoice at the ,

ma nner in which such became elicited whereby a discon

t inuan c e o f ern ic io us customs was secured many evi ls ,

averted and ealth restored

,
.

As a just ification for making these facts known I may ,

mention the o ft repeat ed exclamation that I am accustomed

to hear from young women whom it was in province t o
meet that t hey would give worlds could t rey but have
,

kn ow n the ill consequences that awaited the indulgence o f

the error th ey had fallen into others depl ore with bitte r ,
'

regret that t hey had n o t been apprised o f it s in urio us

'

tendency before and express their wondermen t th

,

, at n o
popular means are adopted to inform youth o f the devas ta
o f the alluring abuse Many have sug .

ligible explanation been g i ven

ent o f their ac nirin the habit
t o the constitution an dd i ad a so the loca{ ,

conseq uences been portrayed they would n o t at the prese nt

, ,

advanced period of the ir l ives ha ve had to bew ail the ir ,

existing infirmity I know many parents wh o have quie tly

.

t old their daughters as t hey neared the age o f twelve o r

"
,

thi rteen and who (the latter from having been subject to
, ,
 '

67

associat ionw i th el der girls they (the m others suspected

that if not already in i tiate d i n the cust om were most
, .

" ,

"
’

to b e —they (the mothers have l ectured their

‘ ,

upo n the roper object and intention o f the

s stem an also detailed to th em the c onse
,

uen c s o f t e ab us e of their functions

"
e S uch a practice .

the lecturing may meet with the reprobation o f a few ,

as t
‘respassing somewhat upon indelicacy and who may ,

also consider it impoli tic to make youth as wise as the m

sel v es as in fact tending to ex cite an d brin g o ut the
, , ,

p ass ions and lead iris on l y to long for that which

'

t hey otherwise woul not fo r some time to come h ave

, ,
t he n ht of .

T e other evil however must be considered and taking

, ,
in sur vey the fact that so few leave school o r arrive at
, ,

womanhood uninstructed in the secret I fo r one hold the

, , , ,

example of the parents quoted worthy o f imitation I

‘
.

am not prepared to advise the i ndiscriminate circulation

o f t his very work as a means because it is not confined to
: ,

that subject and certai nly is more appropriate for elder

, ,

he ads ; besides it is addressed chiefly to i n val ids : but as

, a

I pann ot expect them and in fact I should h epe not either , , ,

to be s uffering under t he severe calamities detailed herein ,

it surel y cannot b e without its useful ness to even young o r ,

I may say y ou n g ish o un g girls if it only c heck pro

‘
‘
,
’
,

gressing folly and the e y help to avert the ills narrated

, _
.

Under these c irc ums an ces a dvice cannot be given too

‘
,

earl and s o I justify the propriety o f sending to the

'

wor d the hints I c her .

The fe mal e genit als occupy the s ame rel ative situation
in the el vis as the male but they are a n an tithes is t o
,

each ot er : the male are constructed to deposit and the

,

,
‘ "
female to receive : cons equentl y in the female there is a ,

cond uit or assage in place of t he male penis termed the

l eading to the womb the receptacle for the
,

va ina
g , ,

re na t in
g g fluid The vagina is placed between the b
.

er and rectum Its entrance is marked by doubl ings,

.
 68

or l ongitud inal folds of flesh call ed

between the , la bia ,
1 1 per part of which is the o pen in o f the u reth ra i nto the
b ad der while below is o c c u ied the aperture , passa ge
at th
, ,

o r fissure as above describ

,
e roof o f the vag ina is
a fl eshy ridge with a pouting apex or p oint anal a o ne t o ,

the penis in the male except being impervious an called

, ,

the clitor is which possesses the powe r o f erection — or . ,

rather of becoming intumescent when exci ted —

,

and al so ,

o f furn ishin a peculiar secretion It is exquis itely sensi

tive and believed to be the sea t o f pleasure in the se xua l
.

embrace the vagina consists of a very so ft vascular elas , ,

tic and contracting structure constituting when its sides

, , ,

are colla sed liliput ian rugae or ridges like the impressions
, ,

left o n t e sand by a receding sea ; it s surface is lined by

a delicate mucous membrane which secretes a lub ric a t in ,

fl uid it is this membrane which is the seat of gon orrh oea

d ischarge fl uo r albus & c an d it is also subject to ulcera
, , .
,

tions and other diseases From the cl itoris is suspended

.

an inner fold like a graceful mantle called the Nymph ae

, , ,

whi ch are also extremely sensitive and appear to serve as , ,

they surround the u rethra also fo r the purpose o f directing

,

the flow of urine Under the Opening o f the urethra ad

.
,

herent to the external margins o f the vagina is a mem ,

b ran o us veil or curtain with a small central aperture cal led ,

the hymen the presence o f which is l ooked upon as the test

,

o f v irg in it After the laceration o r dilatation o f this mem

branc — w ich takes place through ot her causes than sex
,

u l intercourse — the sides o f it contract and form little

a , ,

W i ng like sli s to which the fancifu l name o f Ca ru n culce

p
-

M yrt zf or ms 1 8 applied Much has been said re ardin the

.

res en ce o f this membrane in its entire state t has een .

ee me d by many t o be t here place d as a moral eviden ce o f

chas tity and the newly married husband is horrified if he

-

fin d to o much facility in e ffecting his privileged c o nsum

O

ma t i on o n his wedding night Its laceration is by n o

means a n infallible test o f dishonor In fema l es o f feeble .

an d cons umptive heal th and others o f de li cate c o nstitu t ions

,
 69

en erally,the aperture o f the hymen may become dilate d

ro m nat ural ca uses—
'

from t o o profuse a fl ow of the men

st rual flux fro m local debility O f the part itsel f such as ex
, ,
ists in the disease kno wn by the name O f the Whites and
it is sometimes to be traced to the habit Of personal and
solitary ex itemen t as will be prese ntly alluded to The
, .

membrane is occasionally s o dense and hard as to res ist

sexual cohabitatio n ; and only upo n dividing it by the
sca l el c a n intercourse be sustained At other times it is so
p .

fragile and so vascu lar as to be torn with the least violence ,

and profuse hemorrhage to follow .

At the end of the vagina is the u terus it is sus ended

by what anatomists call its broad l igame nts whi o have ,

certain local attachments : it resembles in shape a pear , , .

It is of a peculiar structure capable Of great distension , ,

and possessing extraordina ry properties It is divided into .

a body neck and mouth ; and when unimp regnated is

, , , ,

very compact and occupies but little space ; the interior

,

is conseq uently very small and it secretes or pours forth

, , , ,
at cer t a in periods a sang uineous discharge termed the
, ,

men strua Whe n concept io n has occurred the mo u t h o f

.
,

the womb which before was Open becomes permanently

, ,

. closed until the period O f delivery Connected with the

, .

womb and constituting a most important part of its ma

,

chinery there are discovered in the roof Of the inte rior o f

,

the u terus two Openings which are the ends of two tubes
,

of canals called the Fallopian tubes These tubes have

, .

their origin in the ovar i a which are two small q ies en

, ,

cased in the ligamentous band supporting the uterus and ,

rese mbling the testicle of t he male ; hen c e they have been

called the female tes tes These ovaria con tain a number of
.

little vesicles of the size Of mustard seeds and some o f the -

size of a pea in nu mber from t welve to fifteen —

, thene are
denominated the eggs o f the human species Annexed to .

the ovaria are Observed surrounding the tubes certain

, ,

fimbrice which gras p the ovaria during the copulati ve ac t

, ,

when prolific and squeeze o ut as it were o n e of these

, , ,

eggs and prope l it into t he uterus

, .
 70

The ute rus or womb is described by ph si ol ogists as

being o f a spongy structure the li o t b ed 0 ythe
, ,
’

a struct ure that yields with its enl argement that grow s ,

with its growth that resumes the former Si ze when dis

, ,

burdened o f its con tents it is supplied W i th blood vessels ,

is duly supp orted has scarcely a cavity when im pre h ated

, ,

and is ever in a state o f preparation for changes f c pn .

c ept io n we shall presently treat There is o n e funct i on

.

t o o important to omit in this place and that i s menstrua ,

tion a term indica t ing a monthly periodical d i scharge that ,

escapes o r which is given o ff from the womb At the com .

m c ii ec m ent o f this function woman is said to have arrived

,

at puberty but there are cases o f precocity and others , ,

wherei n it never occurs that ne utralize this assertion b c

,
~

sides menstruation be ing deferred o r protracted depends

, ,

frequentl y upon the peculiarities Of health As soon how .

,

ever as i t occurs a sensible change takes place in the fe

, ,

male economy ; and certainly the other developments of

womanhood rapidly follow .

Menstruation is the m onthl y discharge o f a red fluid ,

common to females from fifteen to sixteen years Of age to

between forty and fifty and it is held that whilst a femal e ,

me nstruates she is apt to conceive Menstruation is a

, .

device Of nature to relieve the system o r to preserve the

,

balance of the circulation from the n on fulfilmen t O f her

,
-

i nte ntions by the absence Of the procreatio n It usual ly ,

continues for four five or six days and seldom exceeds a

, , ,

few ounces Its suppressi on is usually attended with

.

marked ill health and many of the formidable compla ints

.

o f femal es are attributable to it s irregularities When .

anticipated the female encounters feelings o f depression

,

and lassitude and exhibits an aspect Of feeble health As

, .

a physiological fact women before and after menstruation

, , ,

are more desirous Of the exercise of sexual privileges and ,

us ually the approach of the menstrual flow is accompanied

by a sexual orgasm It has ever been deemed by almost
.

universal consent p rudent for married persons and others

,

t o abstain from t he sexua l embrace during that period

 71

If on l y on the score of cle anliness it shoul d be Observ ed ;

,

besides the likelihood Of establishing irritability and the

, ,

pro b ability Of interfering with t his healthful provision Of

na ture should deter from the indulgence In some coun
, .

tri es menstruating women are excluded from associating

,

with the other sex al together and are even forbade m in

,
~

gl ing with household duties .

It will be fo un d I have devoted a separate chapter o n

the duties expectanc es and abuses o f married life
, , .

The following and functional changes o f copulation are

as follows
The act Of conn ection is urged by what is called the
sex ual propensity It is accompanied by feelings of t he
.
,

intenses t kind the acme o f enjoyments is a t the moment

of seminal ejaculation The pen is is excited to erection
.
.

by the i nflux or rush Of b l ood into its cavernous o r cellu

l ar structure ; the scrotum becomes constricted and com ,

presses the testicl es the vesi cularsemin ales and the pros trat e
gla n d are also elevated by the m us cles called /evator es a n i,
as shown in a ll preli minary anatomical drawings whence ,

their use may now be bette r understood as well as those ,

o f the perineal musc l es which all more o r less assist in

, , ,
'

causing t he prom pt and forcible ej aculati o n Of the sper

matic fluid . In the femal e the sense o f enjoyment s u b
f
'
,

co z tu appears to be principall y excit ed by the fricti on o f

,

the la bi a z n terda and clitor is whi ch are alike in a sta te of

,

turges cence o r erection This exci tement as in the male

.
, ,

often re ac hes such a degree of in t ensity t hat a kind of f

syncopic state is induced a sense o f contented las situde ‘

follows and the mind is permitted to return from the re

,

gi ons of excite d imaginati on to its ordinary quietude .

The due occurrence of the phenomena just detailed does

not necessarily secure , although it generally succeeds in
p roduci n g a prolific result Health
. aptitude an d,
one ,

i mportant conditio n are indispensable an d the last is a ,

pos it i ve con tact between the sperm and f emale oc em .

 72

HE RM AP H RO D IS M .

T HE public mind has been ossly abused o n th is sub

It is the popu l ar notion t beings ex i st possessing
je c t .

the characteristics o f both sexes ; and that such beings

can perform the male and fe male functi ons of coition and
procreation ; and what is eve n more startling that they
ca n copul ate alon e —
, ,

t hat is perform the t wo acts o n their

o wn person "The researches of modern anatomists and
,

physiologists have complete ly set at rest this vulgar sup

position ; z t 1 s ana tom ically a nd phys ically 1 m ossz ble A
'

. .

male apparatus c annot e ms t in any degree 0 perfec ti on

, ,

withou t reducing to a min imum o f development the co

exist ing female apparatus The very exis tence o f a perfect
.

pe ni s with a perfect clitoris is anatomically impossible b e ,

caus e bot h organs have precisely the same connection with

the bones of the pelvis .

Hermaphrodism presen ts various shades o f di fference ,

rendering it sometimes d ifficult to decide which of the two

sexes is predominant but n o instance has ever been known
where the creatu re has begotte n a child with a female ,

and co n ceived o ne in the character o f he rself Monsieur .

S t Hilliare who has devoted much time t o the inquiry ,

.
,

gives it as his opinion that there is a reat anal ogy at all

,

t imes between the sexual or ans o f t e male and fem ale '
,

which he thus explains e urethra o f the male cor

,

responds with the vag ina o f the fe male the tes tes with ,

the ovaries and the prostrate gland o f the male corre s

, .

ponds ia situation t o the uterus o r womb o f the female ,

and accounts fo r the dete rmination o f the sex ac cording

t o the imp ulse o f ad ventitious circums tance comm uni ca ted
at a nd during the time o f connection .

It is a curious fact that in the human emb ryo whether

, ,
it be male or female the external organs o f generati on at
,

one peri od present exactly the same te rm and the uniform ,

type is, t o all appearance,fema l e The male embry o of a.

 74

ead ers search I may be excuse d for the

'
co n s ido ra am ple
'
r ,

tion I purp ose to give t o it It has been state d th at the .

elements of the future life should commin gle t h

elements are t he male semen and the ovarian vesic l e o f
cli appears the more p robable l aw alth o ug h
‘
,

there have been skepticisms to such t o the fu ll e xt en t .

O f these it may be worth whi l e to state o ne o r t wo o f the .

most revalent First that it is n o t absolutely essenti al

.
,

that t e sexual embrace should take place so that the ,

screen o f the mal e be but deposite d in the uterus o f the

female M r Hun ter,the celebrated physiologist advised a
. . ,

pa tient ,a married man who l ab ored under a fistula of the

,

ube thiat through whi ch the urine and semen fl owed t o col
‘
, ,

l ect the latte r and inject it by means o f a sy riiw e into

, , ,

the uterus o f his wi fe he did so and it is said t e lady ,

became pregnant The sto ry h owever is doubtful and

.
, ,

incomplete ; we are not told whether a child was born '

whether it l i ved and how lon g the It is even p ossi bl e

, ,

that the l ady might have nn sled the husband she had
every inducement to do so , inasmuch as he could no t ,

afford her the marital dues “

Ano ther question is as to the necessity o f the semen b e
,
'

in conveyed to the womb at all t o secure con ce tion it

g ,
' '
,

b emg con tend ed that impregnation may be e ffects b y t he ‘

inhalation o f the vapor o f the male fluid or at l eas t by ,

abso rption i f it be but d eposi ted barely wi thin the vagin a

, .

To resolve the doubt one o f the m ost zealous physiologists

,
'
undertook a series o f experiments He selecte d sundry .

rabbits whose generative organization is analagous to the

,

human s eeies with the remarkable di fference o f having

'

at the on o f the vagina two w o mbs i ns te ad of o n e The .

erim en t alist divi ded o ne o f the wombs at t he neck and

p p
i cred the vagina t o heal up whereby the e xcised womb ,
. ,

was excluded from any conne cti on with that passage T he .

animal then ad mitte d the mal e impregnation follo wed but , ,

only in the remaining womb In another expe riment both .

“

wombs we re cu t o ff, an d the vagi na W S le tt , when it ‘

a
.
 75

h eal ed fo rming a blind sa ck This did n ot dimin ish the

, . .

heat of the d oc who subsequently rece ived the

,

intervals but never b ecame fruitful ; ,

of re producti on to »sec ure

T he sa me gen tlema n states however that he has known , ,

insta nces wher e sexua l interc ourse has been imperfect ,

that espe cially , in the case where a young la dy wh os e

, ,
,

n otions of propriety where more politic than moral and ,

W ho permitted her lover to she d his seed a g a ins t instead o f ,

in, her pe rs on yet who b ecame pregnant There are many

, .

suc h fa c t s recorded and many young ladies have had to

'
,
.

regret a similar temerity Much depends however upon .

, ,

t he aptitude and health of the ind ividua ls an d also upon

.
-

the condition o f the male semen

.
It appears that
1
. .

to do with t he subject than quality

'
.

ree grains only .o f the m ale fluid o f ‘

n g 1 t wit h seven teen ounces of water

'

, ,

o n o f the eggs was produced by as ,

luted mix t ure as would adhere

to the poi nt of a fine n eedle S til l,many o f these n otions .

may b e e rroneous and it is m ore pro b able that impregna

, r

t ion wil l foll ow when the organs o f generat ion are em

. ,

w H
'

p l oyed as instinct ould te ach 3 1; .

,

‘M a n unli k e other animals , is n o t smitten with desire to

,

p ropagate only at particul ar periods In se ntient be ings . .

every season is favorab l e t o the flame o f love .

When conceptio n takes place the following phenomen a ,

are believ ed to occur The womb is supposed to parti c i

.

pate ia the excitement o f t he sexual ac t, and at the .

m oment o f t he orgas m to re cei ve yt he male seed and to ,

commingle with i t a fl uid o f its o wn i T he whole appara .

"
t us of the uter us appears infl uenced a t the ; same time
,
.

(some say eigh t d ays after b y a kind of electri c irrita

-
, . .

b ilit y . to the ovaria b eing grasped or '

embraced by the fi mbrz a , escape s from its l odgment , and

.
 76
' ‘

'
u be, where it b ursts , and its a l bu
e n ters the Falld p ia n t

w
minous dro p is c on vey ed in the W om b [
.
u
Fro m the circums tan ce o f the male semen ret a
from the vagin a afte r c opulation , it h s een d b E en
a
'

d u it eerta irfly
‘
whether it W as intende to nter e t he u t er s '

enters once , a nd that when impregnation t akes plac e a nd

even t he n ,1 as has been obs erved , a small p orti on eu ces ,
fo r immediately afte r conception , the womb becomes im
perme ably clos ed The mouth o f the womb lies horizon
.

tally like the lips o f the face whil st t ha t o f the orifice o f

, ,

the u rethra is arranged pe rpendicularl y Hen ce the pre

'
.
.

su mption frbm this better ad aptati on to tran smit and re

,

cei ve that the semen , to impregna te should en te r the '

, _
,

ute rus .

This questi on is mooted because it has been supp osed

e that impregnation ensu es fro mt he
male seed asce nding to the womb
parties admit while others deny that the seed
, ,

and has been de tec te d in the womb o f females

mals having been slai n (o r who may have died " duri ng , o r
soon after the a c t of ce pul'

I mpregnation has fol lowed very i mpe rfect pene trati on ,

such as in cases o f unruptured h ym en; or disproporti on of

parts , and othe r causes n eedless to ass ert h ere by whi ch
’
‘

the supposition is suppo rted that conception t ak es plaee

,
‘

from vaginal absorpt io n but it must be remembered that

t he seed is projec t ed genera lly with great ferce and th at ,
.

the smalles t possible quantity is su fficient for imp regna ti on

also that the vag ina p ossess es a constri ctive m ovement
,

o f its own whereby the seed is carri ed t o the wom b

, .

Afte r the escape o f t he albuminous drop the vascular ’

,

membrane which con tained it is co nverted i nto what is

call ed a Corp us Lute m denoting thereby—fo r it as
’
,

sumes the form afte r a while o f a fle shy nucleus—i t ha t the

female ha s either con cei ve d or has been under the influ
‘ ’

en ce o f strong amatory excite m ent

'
This sa lvo mus t be
.

ad mitted , fo r C orpora Lu tea have been dis c o vered in

femal es where intercourse was even impossibl e but as
t he detection of Corpora Lutea generally corroborates
the s urmise t hat so many conceptions have taken place as
there are Corp ora Lu tea it is to be presumed that the
,

excepti on m ust be owing to some s imilarly powerful men

tal as well as physical e xcitement .

Whe n impregnation has taken plac e the womb begins ,

to ch lar e and becomes more soft vascular and turgid

,
'

, ,

the won erful process of fluids assuming the form of solids

commences and within a fortnight an investing membrane
,

"
is for med c alled the D ec zdu a (I will here insert as few
,

names as possible consisting of two kinds o f folds one

, ,

l ining the wo mb and the other con taining the ov u m

, ,

whic h has therein taken root T he ovum is n o w a soft .

’

ova l mass fringed with vessels and composed of mem

, ,

branes containing the early f oetus .

Whe n opened the foetus appears surrounded by three

,

dis tinct membranes first the D ecidua ; secondly the

, ,

C horz on the i nner fold o f the former thirdly the A mn ios

'

, , .

T he D ecidua as before stated lines the womb ; the two

, ,

others co ver the ovum o r foetus After a time the A m .

,
m

ni c s and Chorion become adherent t o each other and a “

fl uid is interposed betwi xt the A m nios a nd fce t us cal led

. ,

the Li quor Amnii The foetus as it advance s is per

.
, ,

ce iv ed to be hanging by an organ ized support called the ,

Umbilical Chord float ing in the liquid before named

, .

The following further account may aid the description

thus far given The ovum protected by a membrane of
.
,

its own called the Amn ios descends into the uterus
, , ,

where it takes its hol d o f the membranes al ready there

the D ecidula .

T he period consumed in gestation is forty weeks or ,

nine calenda r m onths and the time is calculated from a

,

fortnight after the suspension o f menstruation S ome .

married l adies prid e themselves upon being able t o predi ct

t o a day— to tell the precise occasion when they conceive ,

and which they date from some unus ua l sens ation experi
 78

enced at the particul ar em b race which cte d the import efl

e
r
Many medical men disallow that such tokens
themselves and are op osed to the b el i ef wh i ch
prese n t p
many mothers ente rtain that nature is so communi cat i ve
,

and also are skeptical of those extraord i nary i nfluen ces

that every day furnish proofs of ma t ernal i mag i nat i on ,

occas ion ing to the burthen they carry sundry marks mal ,

fo rmations and monstrosities

,
E xam inations have found
.

that t he order of foetal organizati on is somewhat as fol

lows
The heart and large vessels, the liver and appen d ages
the bra i n stomach and extremiti es
,
T he determination .

o f sex and number has hitherto defied e xploration In .

the early m onths o f pregnancy the womb mai n t ains its ,

natural position but as it enlarges i t also emerges from ,

the pelvis into the abdomen The moment of it s s lippin g

.

o ut o f t he pelvis is te rmed quickening o f which most

women are sensible —
,

so m e fainting on the occasion others ,

being attacked with nausea hys t ria and pal pitati on o f

, ,

the heart Quickening usually occurs between the fourth

and fi fth month The foetus is then called a ch ild —the
.

.
,

law ordainin g that if a woman in tentionally procure o r ,

such parties as may assist in so doing ab ortion o r m iscar ,

ri e ge before quickening it is a misdemeanor ; if afte r

, ,

murder .

S E NS AT I O N S OF P REG NAN C Y .

The sensations attendant upon p regn an cy are genera l

uneasiness flushes of heat and cold languor restles s at
, , ,

night with dreams ; and the most prominent o f all is the

,

sickn ess o f the stomach especial l y in the morning It is

, .

well to have a reaso n handy for what else might appear ,

without o ne v ery strange

, Women o ften a sk medi cal
.

men why they should be s ick when in the family way ?

The answer is because it is an effo rt o f na t ure to coun
,

terac t the te ndency to fullness o f habit At this time, .

 79

no t only is the womb more active and increasive but

"

there is a general disposition in the system to fullness ;

there is positively more blood running through the veins
at that period more gener ated pregnancy is to the femal e
,
'
what s pring t ime is to the earth ; it sets t he whole sys
-

tem alive Besides pregnancy partakes somewhat of a

.
'
,

disease it deranges the economy of the digestive orgaps,

the sto ma c h becomes irritable and moreover some wo , ,

men o r their husbands o r their nurses run away with

, , ,

the idea tha t there are two to feed instead of o n e and ,

that co nsequently more food and nourishment should be

,

taken by the mother—hence women at that per iod often

,

t imes drink beer and worry their a ppetites— wh ich mostly

are wa n ting— with pr ovocatives ; so that on the whole ,

w er e nat ure not on the defensi ve the female human frame ,

would be Oppressed with what it had to undergo and ,

hence sickness in self defence ,

-
.

It is a remarkable fact that the best fed a n d most care ,

-

fully an d luxuriously at tended women o ftentime s bring forth

punier offspring than those that are the most neglected
and impoveri s hed cer tainl y the t wo extremes are b ad in ,

their way ; but it is admitted that o n e is not b etter gen ,

erally than the other

, erg o the system at that time pos , , ,

sessing i n its elf the proper ty of increase withou t requirin g ,

correspondi n g increas e o f nourishment it is evident that ,

sic kness is a feature e s tablished by nature to indicate how ,

l ittle supp ort she requires o r else the kind only which is ,

necessary and which is found to be tha t which the st e m

,

ach will n o t reject .

Bes ides the ex cessive feeding the pampered luxury and ,

i ndolence—the las t another error o f the sex or the sex s

’

, ,

advisers who cons ider it dangerous almost to move about

, ,

l est they disap o int the many hopes in store all these are
p
in consonant W i t h the well d oing o f the female who by -
, ,

spare feeding careful selection and moderate a ct i vi

, ,
‘
may secure what the other plan denies at the hour ,
’
nat ur e s sorrow
’
.
 80

To continue with the symptoms Menstruation of cou rse .

is stopped with some exceptions whic h may be all uded

, ,

t o b a nd b y The breasts feel painful to the touch and

-
. ,

swe and ge t une asy All this t i me t he wom b i s s tead i ly

.

increas ing in size and it is wond erfu l to contemp l a te t he

,

vast b ulk it ulti mate ly attains compared with the d im i n u

.

,
'

t iveness o f its unimpreg nate d condit ion Well may i t have .

been described as o ne o f the wonders o f the world It is .

n o less extraordinary how r apidly after delivery it returns

, , ,

to its original size Blood v essels wh ich in the Vi rgin

.
-

sta te would not admit the finest poin ted probe in the im ,

re na ted state readily admit t he end of the finger and

p g ,

yet when the purposes o f conception shall have been ans

,

wered they then return to their original size

,
.

The womb prim at ively is seated low down and deep in

, ,

the pelvis but when distended by the full grown foetus it

,
-
,

has arisen high up out of i ts cavity .

In pregnancy the organ m ost seri ously a flec ted in

,

the pelvis is the bladder and which is sometim es

, ,

rendered irri table during the whole time o f ges ta p

t ion , thus we have the retention o f urine cause d

"
by actual pressure ; at other t imes an incontinen ce
of urine (from like cause or an inability t o h old it , ,

the water coming away i nvoluntarily upon the sligh t ,

es t exertion especially upo n laughing coughing sucez

, , ,

ing the P regnan t women are annoyed with cramp

, .
,

numbness o f the thighs legs &c and which are als o a l , , .

, ,

m ost always more o r less swollen S ometimes the vei ns

, .

o f the gen itals are prodigiously diste nded and re semb le ,

clusters o f grapes hanging down and the veins a lso o f t he ,

legs convey the feelings o f cords o r ropes surroundi ng

, ,
-

them These are c as ualit ies and are n o t atte ndant upon
.
,

every ind ividu al but they are the co nsequence chiefly of

, , ,
early misman agement In a llus ion to t he advantages o f
.

exerc ise it do es not fo llow that every fe male should toil in

,

the vin eyard yet moderate activity and pe rsonal industr

,
y
keep c d many il ls which indol ence engende rs and there is
’

,
 82
”

resen c e of a moisture , or the po siti ve escape o f a flu id .

he m o st depe nd ab l e fa c t is the occ urrence o f qu i ckening

‘
,

A fter this period the abdo me n sensibly i n creas es i n S ize ;

,

so on afte r wh ich the moveme nts o f the chil d are percept i

,

bly felt Still ther is n o positive regularity i n th i s order of

.
e
‘

things and a de gr ee o f unce rtainty n o w and then rema1 ns ,t o

,
’

the last mome nt of delive ry It is by n o means fabulous when .

i t is mentioned that so obscure have b een the sensat io ns and

,

other evidences of pregnancy that women have had doub ts ,

o f their o wn actual conditi on to the l ast moment ; an d al

though t he apparent obstinacy may have been assumed ,

many have den ied the fact n otwithstanding the presen ce

.
,

and c ry o f the child Medical men have o the r ai ds to de

'

'
.

t ec t whether a fe male be en cz en z e than the patient h e rsel f can

'

exercise The vaginal exam ina t io n whic h can be m ad e with

.
,

out offence to the delicacy o f the most sensitive person ,per

mi ts t he detectio n of the condit ion and p osition o f the W omb
'

which are great he"

,

s in d eterm ining the p resence o f im

preg nati o n The B o g . o tzem en t as it is called by the Frenc h ,

accoucheurs disc o verab le when the female is ih the erect

,
' '

fi pre ty strong eviden ce f the stat ‘

’

ip o s it io n a o r
,ds t o o n e e or
the others The ste th osc ope applied ov er t he abdomen , ,

enables the l is tener to pe rceive the act io n o f the fo etal

,

heart and the B ru it g lacen ta ire S ome m edical men rely

,
’
.

much u pon the presence of a dark line ru n ni ng down the

c entral part o f the abdomen and the bluish aspect
vagina others dwell upon the sta t e o f the urine
there are those to b e found who rely up on their general
t
,
‘

,
, m
discrimination . r

Pavturzt ion ta kes p l a ce at the end o f the n inth mo nth

' '
n

b ut chi ldren bor n at the end o f seven w ill live ; an d ex . ,

a mples are relate d o f ,s ome that have gone te n In ’ ’

- .

Fr a nc e,legitimacy is all ow ed to children born o n the 2 99th

day o f pregnancy Labor is disti nguish ed by a softeni ng
.

o f t he soft parts o f t he fe male mr an s o f generation an

,
g ,

ab undan t secret ion of mucus , a relaxation o f the mouth

o f: the w omb , and a forcib le co ntractio n o f its b ody the
 83

expul sion o f the chi l d is effec ted b y pai ns of a strain ing .

na ture A fter the birth of the chil d the womb contracts

. ;

to its n orma l or uni mp r egnated s ize giving forth a d is J ; , r

‘

charge called the lochia a nd lasts for several days and

, , ,
the breasts i mmediate l y furnis hn t he Isec ret io n o f mil k '
.

Whilst u nder t his head a word or t wo may be sa id upon

.
,

a c onditio n o f the womb unfo rtunately o f ,

v alen c m called Prola sus Uteri or

p f allin g of the womb
.
,
.
.

Such occurrences may take place with singl e females as

wel l as with m arried o r those who have borne children
, .

It may be held as the resul t of debility and according to ,

t he degree of descent is the i nc onvenience a nd s uffering

, .

A par tial d esce nt of the ute rus gives rise to Ipainful ; .

dragging sensations ab o ut the re ins and funda ment an di

it is us ually at tended by t he wittes o r leaco r rhwa a d is
,
’ t
i r
, ,

ea se o f muc h prevalenc e r

,
If prolapsus tak es p l ace d uring pre nancy the womb
.
g ,

re ss es upo n the bladder a nd rectu m and oc casions irri ta

p
,

ility of bot h those str uctu res but as pregnancy advances ,

and the womb asce n ds into t he a b do me n these i n co n ven ,

-
i

iences cease and the wom b oftentimes regains its tone and
,

positio n a fter childbirth The wo mb sometimes protrudes

.
“
.

extern ally and is a source of great distress

, i .
‘

,
T he t reatment o f these c ases is chiefly mechanic al b ee
, ,

sides supporting the gene ral health ; the first symptom .

ho wever demand e fficient attention and the med ica l at

, ,
w

tend a n t should be m ade acquain ted with every particular .

It is a question whether the weakened co ndition of the

s upports of the wo mb and the c o ns equent relaxe d s ta te
,

of the vagina are not o wing t o t he manner in wh ich

, ,

wo men clothe themselves The pelvic part (i f the fem ale

.

is kept always i n a state o f unnatural warmth from the ,

load of petticoats an d other unnam eable portions of female

attire Contrast but the d i ffe re nc e be t ween the sim ple
u nline d t rouse rs of the male and five o r s ix —
.

fold clo th ing

'

of the ot her sex—either the o ne must yield t o much

‘
'
. ‘

wa rmth or the other must strike t oo col d; "T he sed e ntary

,
‘
habits o f wome n have , o f course , much o m rn
l '
 1 84

W h e n re tention o f urin e follo w s thé fal l in w or

'

rtia l d escen t o f t he wom b , the fem ale s ho n l 1 ido n her g

fi
e on
o

ch press t he u ter us i nto the pe l v is , and u ri na t e i n that

M y
flT he womb , besides b ec bm
.
in g is s ubjectto an
m i c u i o r a tur n i n g ii md e o ut s uc h cases are
j .

u nfrequent , but a ny d is tur b an ce o il 3 rta n t an organ

"
demands t he pm mpest atten ti on 0 l‘

r . I
t
.
rn xsaas n or wo man , i s» run us e in» T HE
'
s r e c unun .

T in t rod uct ion o f the stethosco p

un
'
e a nd the speculu m ‘

eb rls t itu te t wo im o r ta n t epo hs in m ic a l scie nce—the

‘

p c ed
fermer as certa ining ; by the c on veyan ce o f so und ; disease
_

in the most hi dden and i naccessib le pa rts

frame , and the latter br inging to vie w stru ct ‘

wi t hout such aid , are necess arily veiled fro m

T he sp eculu m consists o f an in strume nt for m
‘ "
o r st eel , t at h wit out p n or i n
h r ai co n venien ce s pas sed bite
i
t lm v agina , when , by a simple contrivan c e , it is m ad e he
“

e X pa nd and d ila t e the v agina l assa ge , and thereby exp ose

t o vie w t he entire cana l, toge her w ith the uter ine ap '
er-
f

ture T he use fulness ipf such a method , whe reby disease

.

c an at onc e be de t ected ; admits o f n o dispute 2 It is

physii
'
.

c all p ai nless , and if Op pos ed to fem ale sdifliden eG and ' '

'

e i
m est y , t s i m porta nce an d servic eab le n ess sh ould b e
’

balan ced against the ment al distress such a proced ure

may oc ca sion O the o e hand , witho ut i ts easis ta nce ,
n. n
' ‘ '

the tre at ment o f the d isea se is at best b ut conjectu ral on

the other, by i ts aid ,:i t is safe a n d su re Much suspense
'
.
'

and suff ring is at on c e u t an end to ; E xperi en ce hwf

e

ro ved that m any lo ca l is t urb an oes , that we believed to

p ave bee n merely vag in al i rritation , have been discovered
upon absolute disorgani z ation of t he neck and
b ”D e
the wom e p seate d u lcera ti on has bee n
—
-
.

detec t ed , and cancerous en la r ments t he d ise ase the re by

hea ving b ee n es os ed
p has hm
t he n ecess ary and suwwsful
I
 85

S peculu m is n ow
i n the hands o f eve ry respecta bl e
medica l man and the class of dis orders that hold it in
,

requis i tion are b ein g bet ter understood and consequently ,

more successfully combated In no cases is it m ore usefu l .

than i n secretive irregula rities such as in Leucorrh oea ,

'

Gouorrhma or S hilit ic ulceration— for the detection

‘

and treatment o f w ich dise ases it is infallible .

In pursuan ce t he ne xt subject t o be introduced is n o

,

less inte res ti ng than import ant .

CHAPTE R X .

ON THE Ha s nm m a r ran s s m s sro n o r Qnam IE s .

T HE p rec ding pages contain the introduction to th is

e

p art o f o ur subject The anatomy and physiology o r in

.
, ,

other words the stru c ture and urposes o f the reproduc

,

tive organs have bee n des crib

, and ill ustrated In t he .

present chapter I propose t o consider how far the true

,

aim e nd e nd of marriage is answered namely the procre ,

ation of children It is not merely necess ary that the two

.

sexes should congregate for the purposes o f lascivious en

is a more imp ortant object in view —
jyo m ent .There the
preservation of our continuance the be getting of childre n , .

Nature has in this as in other most generously ordain

, ,

ed that pleasure shoul d await the issue It may be tem .

.
. red by passing pain and su ffering ; but who is in se nsi
le or can be to the instant uprising affection the parent
, ,

entertains for the n ew born offspring It is a feeling ia

-

des cribable an d cannot be shared by any but those it in

,

reality bel ongs t o .

But there a re many drawbacks to ev en this state of

happin ess The child may be ushered in with cares that
.

s oon are succeeded by sorrows and grie fs to b e felt only ,

to be k nown A mother s first anxious inquiry is

.
’
 86

the chi ld be per fect With what zeal ous solicitude do th she
.

await the bys tander s exclamation o f adm i rat i on as to i ts’

symmetry or healthy ap pe a ran ce ; and how pmgnan t i s

, .

her d isappointment if a mal fo rmed o r i mperfectly devel ,

0p e d or a sickened o f
f spring be o f
f ered to her expec tant ,
,

arms ?
Many a mother is doom ed in a few sh ort h ours to l o se , ,

the long looked fo r object o f her cherished h opes by some

- -
,

untimely and o n e might almost say ca ri cious end but

these dis appointments r arely occur witp
, , ,

out an existi ng ,

although hidde n cause I will endeavor as in telligibly as .

,

po ssible to lay down the principles upon which the pro

,
crea tio n o f healthy ch ildren depe nds to exh ib it the
freaks mischances and capr ices o f n ature to sh ow also
, ,

t he work in s o f the imagi na t ion ; and as a summary to , . ,

submit suc suggestions as at least shall be c onsistent

with reason and common sense .

There is a quaint work to be met with occasionally in

the top shelves o f o ld family libraries some publ ic i nsti
t ut io ns may possess a copy it is also‘
to be picked u
'

;
n o w an d t hen at a book stall but except it be met wi -
,

under any of these circumstan ces it is hardly worth whi le ,

for inqu irers aft er the subject o f our present remarks t o ,

b uy it outright It is entitled Burton 8 Anatomy of

’
.

Melancholy Among other things it contains the sages

.
’
,

o f b y gonc days on the scien ce o f propagation besid es ia

-
,

t ro duci n g you to the classi cs of all n at ions and showing ,

what our own neighbo ring forefa thers thought said or , ,

wrote o n the theory o f living well long a nd in health , , .

S ome o f the observations quoted therefrom and which ,

wi ll be found freely used i n this chap ter are n ovel singu , ,

l ar and m irths t irring b ut no less conv incing tha t in

, ,
‘

many a ffairs of thi s world we have retrograd ed rat her

than advanced .

To retur n to the c onsideration o f the heredi tary trans

mission o f qualities : the same la w w hich re g ulate the
per fection of plants , the growth of co rn , the fl ee tness of
 87

the reyhound , and the sym metry of the horse , govern the
g
pys wal a n d me ntal cul t ure of man
'

In the ve g e table
p
.

n gd o m , the ag riculturist is a ware t hat the success of his

crops depends upo n t he conditio n o f. what he sows and ,

the fert i li t y of the soi l wherein it is s e wn P rec isely so .

is it wi th the propagation o f the h uman s pecies— the race

may be improved o r deteriorated , accord ing as the laws
which govern the conti nuance of ma nkind are the more or
l es s observed.

B urton commences by saying that ‘such as the temper

a ture o f the father is such is t he so n s and what diseas e
,
’

the father had when he b eg e t him his s o n will have af ter ,

and is as well i nheritor o f his infirmit ies as of his

l ds
l im

a11
’
The famous family E nob arb i were known o f old an d ,

s o surnamed from their red beards The Austrian l ips '

.
,

the flat nose of the Indian the Bavarian chin and the aqui
, ,

1 ine contour of the J e w are severally characteristic o f

,
‘

hereditary conformation The voice pace gesture looks

.
, , , ,

with all the rest o f their conditions and in firm it ies de ’

scend from paren t t o o ffspring such a mother such a

daughter ; their very a ffec t ions—the malice and bad c on
,

d it io ns of children are many ti mes wholly to be i mputed

'

to their pare nts .

’
What is most extraordinary and the ,

more to be wondered at is that a certain disorder known

, , ,

to prevail in particular families sometimes skips the ,

father an d goes to the s on and takes every other and

, , ,

sometimes every third in a lineal descent

, and though it
may n ot always produce exac tly the same yet it does ,

some like or symbolizing disease : The same author whose =

,

reading and researches n o man ever surpassed quotes the ,

recommendations of the ancient fathers that persons dis ,

p os e d to conjugate if they love themselves a nd res pect

, ,

the co mmon good should m ake choice o f those who are

,

m os t d iffering in c dm plex io n to the mselves ; and he thus

adds 1
’
‘
F o r s ure I think it hath be en o rdered by G od s esp e
 88

c ial providence that in all ages there sh ould be as usually

,
,

the re is once in six h undred years a t ransm i grati on of

, ,

natio ns to a me nd a nd urify their b lood as we al ter seed ,

.

upo n our land ; a nd t t there should be as 1 t wc re an , ,

inunda tion o f th ose n orthern G oth s and Vanda ls and ,

"
many s uc hd ike people wh ich c ame o ut o f th at continent
of S candia an d Sarmatia ( s some suppose and o verran
as a deluge most part of i urepe and Afr ica t o alte r for
, , r
‘
,
,

o ur good o ur complexions which were much defaced W i th

, ,

hereditary in firm ities which by o ur l ust and i n tempcr

, ,

ance we had co ntracted — a sound generation of strong

.
,

and able men were sen t amongst us (as th ose n orthern men
"
usu ally are innocuous free from ri ot and free from dis
,

eases to qual ify and amend fo r o ur race

,
,

The prece ding

,

.
’

extract is the Opinion o f writers centuri es ago but it is

worthy o f reflection to no te t he intermixture o f nations _

that has taken place within o ur recollection and is still

.
,

continuing Witness the manner i n which this country is

.

i nundate d with refugees o r voluntary exiles which time ,

a n d hospitality ad mit n ot only to o u r tables an d homes ,but

e ven to intermarriages wi th our o w n families if n ot to the ,

physical improvement of o ur o wn descendants at least to ,

a mod ification of temperament and constituti on The .

French invasion conquest an d retention o f B arbary,

, ,

must te nd to al ter the physiognomy and general co n figu '

ration o f the Algerines .

The ages at which ple marry have thei r specific in

fl uences O ld men s c h ildren are seldom of a g ood te m
’
.

perame nt ; and therefo re fo r the m ost part wayward

, , , ,

vish sa d and melan c hol an d seldom mer ry It has

, , , .

ong bee n a q ues tio n with p y s io lo g is ts what should de

'

termine the se x o f a chi ld By some it is urg ed that mal e .

.

,
o ffspr ing infer health o n the part o f the father
; while a
female progeny indicate those desiderata to be o n the
’
mother s side There are numerous e xceptions to this sup
.

p osed law but perhaps the Opinion just named can afford
, ,

grea ter evidences o f frequent rea l ization than the excep

 90

sophy ; but it is highly i ll us trative that without some such ,

prevent ive due homage cannot be secured The S pan ish

,
.

C ort ego looke t h up what his wi fe s caprice might in dq

’

her to part with .

Some curious facts are observed relati ve to the t i me and

method occupied in the sexual congress especially where ,

the par ties be young of equal age and in good health

, ,
.

The first issue o f young married perso ns is gene rally l ess

intellec t ua lly endowed than the subsequently born T he .

impulse of excitement depend ing upon t he activity of the

,
.
mental organs g overning the anima l passion engrosses the ,

vital energies o f the paren ts and it is upon this principle

that the organs which predominate in vigor and a c t iv1 t
in the parents at the time when ex istence is communi on
,

de term ine the te ndency of correspond ing organs to dev el

o pe them selves largely in the children It is also remarked
.

that the firs t bor n is frequently less physically perfect t han

-

the after produce Conception is the result of o n e per fect

-
.

embrace and in the first night s in tercourse betwixt a mar

’

ried couple that act may n ot be e ffected unt il the e xs v ir ile,

,

o f at least the male may be exhausted — a nd upon the

,

princ iple of the qualities of the o ffspring depending upon

the state o f health o f its parents the male seme n must ,

necessar ily be deteri orated after the th ird o r fourt h emis

sion— and c onsequently less e fficient for the purp oses o f
'

, ,

healthy and vigorous impregnation There are o f c ourse ,

exceptions —where the parents have been in rude and

.
, ,

ro ugh heal th with strong passions an d where the first

, ,

se x ual embrace has been successful it has been remarked ,

that the o ffspring have bee n endowed with the vigor en ,

ergy and gen i s o f the procreants attributable to the ardor

, u ,

and impetuosity naturally present at the consummation o f

sudden or delayed expectancy : hence have bee n ascr ib ed
th ose p roperties as being pree m inently apparent in those
born without the pale of legi t imacy where brute passion ,
tramp les upon the modesty of nature .
 NYM P H O M A N IA .

T HE prevai l ing grievance relative to marital unfit n ess

depends upon absence o r loss o f sexual power It has been .

frequently stated that the p owers that be d iffer in individ

uals and in both sexes ; but it rema ins yet to speak of the
,

O p po site extremes W here libidinousness and ungovernable

sensuality usu rp the place o f healthy an d legitimate indulg
en ce In the male , such a state o f things is calle d Saty
rias is —
.

in the female Nymphomania o r Furor Uterinus

, , .

Ha pily these c ases are m ore frequently read o f than met

witp but notwithstanding t hey no w and then exist
,

, , .

S uch conditions are the re su lt usually o f local d isease or

, , ,

may c ome under the head o f me no man ia cal delusion but ,

th ey also are traceable to early and depraved ha b its for ,

immorality and licentious ness are cultivated as well as

modes ty and decorum
.

The afflicted with either of the conditions above named

, ,

cannot conceal their misfortu ne The mind loses self c on

.
~ ~

t ro l and the indi vidual exhibits by various outrages to de

,

cen cy the dem oniacal i nflue nce within T he presence o f

'

t he op posite sex is t he signal for lasc iy ious d isplay a nd ,

c ases are told where positive force had to be employed to

protect the helple ss from the outrage o f the assail ing sen
sualis t . I was once cons ulted by a respectable gentleman
who spoke t o me concerning his daughter s hea lt h She ’
.

W as twe n ty years o f a e and was receiving the attentions

g
,

o f a n ad mit ted suitor fo r her hand It appeared that she

.

was of that highly excitable temperame n t that in a con ,

fess ion t o her mother — from a dread o f the possible con

'

se quence s were her feelings unchecked — she stated that

,

when in the presence of her inte nded husband she became

p ositively convulsed with la c ivio us longings that she feared
she woul d betray and demean herse lf before she became a
 92

ls
wife The l ady had b een we ll ed uca ted and m ora
.

brought up but her nervous and vita l system prevail

,

and her emoti o ns became ungovernable Upon investig a .

tion the lady informed her mothe r that these exci tements
,

were happil y n ot permanent but still they were too frs ,

quently per i odical ; and notwithstanding her notions o f

ropriety powerfully sustained her from a positive outbreak
p
i nto sol icitation she feared there might a rise a moment
,

when she might lose that l ittle self command and fall a
.

"
-

victim to her m isfortune ; fo r ho wever generous a man

might b e dispose d n ot to take ad vantage o f such a mani fes t
ation the excitemen t o f his position would I apprehend ,
, ,

be such as to render him equal ly i rresponsible fo r his co n

duct If the history of ev ry case o f seducti on could be
analyzed it would I think e
.

, be found that really fewer are

, ,

premeditated than arise from a combinati on o f o ppo rtu

n it y and impul se ; wherefore t he propriety of shunni ng
temptation o r keeping those who are dearl y inte reste d
,
.

about such as our daughters sisters and other female rel

, , ,

atives and friends o ut o f its way , Lead us n o t in to .

temptation but deliver us from evil should be reme mbered

,
’
,

by every parent o r guardian ; and the l ittle mark o f con

fidenc e of leaving young people together or su ffering them ,

to go o ut alone sitting up after he rest o f the family , ri d

,

in g i n cabs &c & c & c are all risks in their way and
,
.
, .
, .
,

cauti on is a good lock against loss The l ad y whose case .

I have introduced shortly a fter the ci rcumsta nce told

, ,

married became a mother , and her health thereby r estored

,

to a state of tranquillity
"
.

E xcesses in married li fe lead to high state s o f serum

-

emotion Many people consid er what is d ene under the

.

cloak o f matrimony to be justifiable and should con cern ,

no o n e but themselves but ignorance o f the conse quences

is n ot bli ss in this instance T is bette r t o be W i se , and .
’

t o know that t o o much indul gen ce cann ot with im punity

.

be long persevered in and also to be apprized o f what t he

,

c onsequences will be It shoul d be remembered ‘that

.
 93 .

the debauch es of youth are so many conspiracies against

d age
ol
’
.
v
Excesses in fema l es are productive o f inflammation o f
the womb and its passages and consequently en su e disa
, , l

reeab le d i scharges frequent menstruati on even ulcera

g , ,

t i on and almost invariably sterility ; lastly the morbid

, ,

excitement called Nymphomania The symptoms when ’

.
,

present o f this sad malady are fearful ly evident and at

, ,

once betray the nature o f the evil ; They are rec ognised
by sighings lascivious casting about of the eyes red
‘
,
~

,
’

and flushed face an impossibility to avoid libidinous ad

’

vances to men and a total d isregard to all delicacy and

,

modesty Whe n alone an abandonment to m as turbation

.
,

is unavoidable except the person be secured so as to pre

,

vent the act P ersons lost t o sexual control whether

.
,

married or single soon s uffer in healt h , .

The female is su bject to derangements o f h ealth ia ,

duced probably by the nature of her occupation or else

, ,
'
,

depending upon the state o f her general constitution .

Women are n a turally m o re delicate than men and c o n se '

uently are less able to withstan d the vicissitudes o f wea

t er and less able to endure the common fa t ig ues o f life
,
'
.

The most prominent derangement with a young female is

irregularity in her periodi cal secretions It has been b e .

fore state d that the uterus was subj ect when matured to
, , ,
‘

give o ff a certain hemorrhage at intervals o f four weeks .

P hysiologists en tertain many opi ni ons as to the cau se o r

object of this discharge ; but from its universal prev a
lence and the derangement of health that ensues when it
,

is interrupted it is pro y ed beyond doubt to have some

,

Specific te ndency and that tendency is t o secure general

,

h ealth When a female becomes pregnant it generally

.
'
,

ceases and frequently it is absent during lact ation or

. ,

while the mother is suckling her infant If the female .

unfortunately be addicted to the m a lprax zs so prevalent ,

with young men o f course it disturbs the uterine economy

, ,

al together , and she as soon experiences the ill consequenc e

 94

as the other . La ssitude drowsiness nervo usness l o ca l

, , ,

ach es and pa ins and numerous other symptoms ensue

,
.

The accession o f each future periodical discharge ; if it 0 0 ,

cur a t all is accompanied with much pai n a nd suffering

, , ,

its character is al tered and the general health partici

,
»

pa tes in the d isturbance Another form is the occurrence

.

o f profuse fl o o d ings which redu ce the sufferer to a s ta t e

,

o f the most extreme debility .

There are a variety o f symptoms that are thus ushered

in that renders life irksome and weary and unless j udi
, , ,

c io us measures be adopted soon te rminate s the acquain t,

an ce ex isting between our heroine and the world she forms

s o charming an ornament of .

Women subject to profuse bleedings are seldom proli fic .

They m a y conceive but they generally miscarry ; it

,

therefore behoves that p rompt a nd judicious advice be

sought and obtained at the onset o f so distressing a
symptom o f debility and irrita t ion Another annoying .

complaint often holds possession o f young females con ,

sisting of local irritation accompanied with a whitish or

,

yellowish discharge known among the sex by the name

,

o f the W I u tes— Leuco rrhaza It may certa inly be induced

.

by constitutional di st u bance and i s very frequently the

r
,

indi cation o f such , but it is o n e o f the invariable couse

( 1 1 8 0 0 6 8 of personal i ndulgen ce
1 E xcess of exci t ement in .

t11 e characte r of maid o r wife alike produc e it It is cen .

tain symptom o f weakness and if n o t chec ked is sure to , ,

est ablish sterility .

. Women are not exempt from those contagi ous diseases

which attack men The questio n might here arise as t o
.

the primary origin of venereal affections whether they

really constitute a specific di sease that i f on ce eradic at ed , , ,

would be blotte d out fo r ever am ong the ailments o f the .

human body o r whether such might n ot agai n spring up

,

spontane ously are queries scarcely soluble so m u ch di ffer

, ,

ence o f Opinion existing o n these poin ts My o wn im . p

pression is that, at a ll events, diseas es whi ch very much

,
 95

sim il at g onorrhcea , arise from se xual excitement, even

e

with the m os t chaste and prudent , taking ; the last two

words in their worldly se nse Lo cal irritati o n is es
.

ta b lished, inflammati on ensues ; and I have known in

sta n ces o f such being kept up between man and wife fo r
even years , much to their mutual annoyance and d is co m
fort The extension o f venereal affections is more often
.

the resu l t , I verily believe , of in caution than design , but

.

there are ins ta n ces o f heartless depravity, where young

men , laboring under syph il iti c affections , such as gleet , or
even ulcerations of the genital organs , have intercourse
with some unfortunate intimate , ei t her o f their own crea~
tion or k eeping , and thereby pave the path for the spread
o f the infection t o the next acquaintance t he lu c kless fe .

ma le may attempt to associate with for her support .

It is the res ult o f incaution when carried home t o a

,

family The re are moments when men even o f domestic

.
,

habi ts well principled and am iable men t o o , from excite

,
-
,

ment commit an indiscretion th ey may never forgive

thems elves fo r after An unsought incident pr esents it
. .

self A man may be absent from home his wi fe may be

.

in a state of health that shall forbid intercourse he fa lls

in with some loose cr eature loses command of his pa ssion s
, ,

incurs the risk o f contagion— encounters it — is lulled in to i

security by its n on appearan ce for severa l days —

;
-
holds
c o n n ee t ib n with his wife and is horrified to find sy m p
,

toms o f dise ase in his o wn perso n the n ext o r fol

o

lowi ng day S ome men have resol ution enough at once

.

to confess the ir indiscretion the family adv iser is ,

consulte d and a ll is soon wel l ; the lesson thereby

;

gained becomes a l as ting o n e O thers are n ot I so

.

prudent o r resol ved ; artifice is resorte d to ; the fem ale

discove rs that she is u n well ; may o r may not suspect
the cause ; or perhaps in her o wn perso n may co n
, ,
o

cea l it considering it possibly depe nd i ng upon the state

, , ,

o f her o wn heal t h arising from constitutional causes At .

la st , sym ptoms set in that forb idfint erco urse between the
 96

par ties ; and then after the disease has bee n ragi ng fo r
,

weeks unco ntro lled med ical assista nce is sought and
, , ,

much ve xation and m o rt ifica t io n ensue The health of .

both parties is soo n brought down by the necessary med i .

cines purgatives &c and p oss ibly i f the fem al e be

, , .
, , ,

p regnant she miscarries o r inoculates her help less chi l d

, ,

wit h the infecti on she ha s s o undeservedly caught .

S uch are a few o f the accidents that bes e t the l ife of

young persons single as well as married Many escape
,
.

them altogether others fall victims and are but brief i n ,

m ates o f this worl d the deligh ts o f which have ever been

,

t o them but as a dream The next peculiar and n ovel

.

s it io n for a female to encounter is pregnancy It might

p psupposed that the changes which the syste m undergoes ,
.

and the alteration the frame itself encounters would fur ,

.

n ish direct evidence to a fem al e , so that she m ight know

she was likely to be a m other .

Women however are very ind ifferent judges o f preg

, ,

nancy even when ih ~that condition themse lves o r when

, ,

called upon t o decide fo r others Many women although .

,

sensible o f having incurred the risk o f fal ling en cien te,

have n o t judged them se lves to be so unt il w it hin a few
hours of del ive ry Al mos t every medical man must have
.

met with such cases and there are many women o n the ,

contrary who anti cipate the den owz men t in vain not,
,

wi thstanding symp t oms are against them they frequently ,

i nsist upon b e ing pregnan t till their patience n o t their

, ,

faith becomes exhaus t ed The custom wh ich is still t o l

, .
,
‘

crate d o f empanelling i n cases where a woman is c o n

‘
, ,

dem ne d to d ie a jury o f matrons t o decide upon the c ul

, ,

prit e plea fo r a res p ite from execution on the score of her

’

likelihood to become a mother is an abuse rather d iscred ,

‘

ita b le t o these enl ightened days ; especially when a verdict

from s uch a jury is a b solute S ome half a doze n years .

ago at N orwich a woman was condemned fo r murder ;

, ,

she pl ead ed pregnancy in bar o f execution A jury o f

, .

matr ons , selected with ca re from the most respe c tab le

fo rtunate who dra w the p riz es I a m no advocate for .
'

for ced marriage ; and were I t he parent I wou l d rather ,

l ook to the pro b abil ities of futu re com fort and ha p piness,
rely u pon the c han ces o f wealth and dist i nction . .

The m ost des irable age at whi ch people sho ul d m arry is ,

from twenty one to twenty th ree years o f age fo r t he male,

- -

and from eighte en to twen ty one for t he female -

.

Ho w rarely is a love match a match o f deliberation ;

an accidental meeting a reci ro cal glance an exchange
, ,

o f truisms a smile purch e

, by a fl a tterer s tongue an ’
,

hour s dalliance a day s absen ce and the pair are instinct

’
,
’
,

ive ly in love with each oth er The greate r the obstacles .

thrown in their way the more ard ent t he race fo r the goal
,

o f matrimony P o ssession on ce obtained the mist o f ia

.
,

fat uat io n is soo n dissipated and i t becomes scarce a ques ,

tion which o f the two be the first to lament their indisc re

ti o n and h aste And yet what can be expected from the
.

surrender o f each other s liberty and progressing feelings

’
,

cemented by a compact m ad e o n the impul se of a n ex

cited i magination—made without a knowledge o f each
othe r s c haracte r dispositi on habi t o r hea lth ? Ho w
’ '

, ,

rarely it is that disgust and disappointment do n o t foll ow

,

,
'

and conv ert that which r hope had p ortrayed as the '

heigh t o f human ha p pine ss n t o a life o f wretchedness and

‘
‘

disa pointment l
Tp ere are again e xc epti ons
'

S ome matches earl y .

,

ones t o o comb ine every essen tial o f hap iness a nd co n

,

te nt ment and realize all their hopes to t e full

, When
such exist it is a thrice H
.

, appy world to them indeed .

Love has been the same we ma safely believe from ,

the remote st times to the present—t o n l d ifference ex

,

is ti ng in the freedoms and r estri ctions a owed and im

p osed A c cording to ancient mythology and the o ld
.

writers it appears h owever , that much o f the sum of

, ,

life was expe nded i n w ooi ng and winn in The poets of

o ld assigned to lov e the govern m
g .

ent of the worl d : the

passion existe d n ot on ly among li vin g but inan imate '
 99

thi ngs It is somewha t digressive , but also amusing and

.
'

,
,

exh i b its how n atural t he passion is when the m ind has no ‘

,

other occupation The arts and sciences may have flo ur

’

ished during past epochs but they never engrossed so , .

large a share of mental attenti o n as at the present mo

ment To proceed the poetic ide a that se as and waters
.
,

as we ll as a ir and winds are e n amored of beauty is well , ,

expressed o n the occasio n o f Leander s nightly visits to ’

Here whe n Neptune it is said with his triden t did beat

, , , ,

dow n the waves .

T he practice o f confining women within doors o r vei ls , ,

doubtle ss originated in those arbi t rary a nd despotic nations

from a knowledge o f human nature ; from a careful c on
sidera t io n that however virtuous and faithful a woma n is
,

disposed to be the tempter m a n cannot with equal safety

, , , , ,

be left to his o wn virtue ; and therefore they wisely keep ‘

, ,

their wive s out o f harm s way Many men a t this mo

’ ’
.
,

ment breathing have ,t wo Species o f vani ty — they are

, ,

proud of the mse lves and proud of the ir wives they show
,

b oth e lf a n d whils t they get admirers themselves the ir

, ,

wives do likewise It is n ot always confidence in a wife

.

that induces a h us band to allow her mal e acquainta nces

it is oftentimes ind ifferen ce that l ul ls suspicion o r the ,

vain feathery admiration o f the lady s beauty o r person

,
’

may command that the hus band fanci es himself the eu

,

vied p ossessor o f s uc h a gem among her as sociates Many .

such men made a rod for their o wn tails —they become

,
’
,

accessories to their o wn deception Herodotus relates .

‘

that Ga n dalus o ut o f vanity exposed the person of his

, ,

W i fe to his bosom friend G yges T he fair o ne took the .

earliest opp ortunity,“ complying with the stranger s 8 0 1 1 ’

c itations and left her husband to lame nt his indiscretion

,
.

A woman becaus e she has gained the conquest of a

,

hus band ought n ot to lay aside those enticements that

,

helped so much to win him Beauty is a po werful lo ad .

stone o f itself but much more so when t hose art i ficral

,,
s

a ll urements , wh i ch art knows so wel l ho w to furn i sh ; are

 1 00

an nex ed to it Bea uty the old pro verb te lls when un

.
’
, ,

ad o rned, is adorned the m ost as a jewel will cas t its o wn

rays o n a dunghill ; but Cleopa tra thought n ot so when ,

she tempte d and conquered A n t o n

O ur continental neighbors witi all their levity and lit
.

tl eness surpass us in many poin ts of dom esti c m inut iaa

,
.

A French woman would consider herself and her hus band , ,

t o o infe ct io us if the bath was no t resorted to two o r three

, f

times a week and the women are as articular in per

fuming their persons and their han dkerc p
,

iefs .

Married persons although bot h hus band and wife may

,

b e in sound health are subject to mischan c es in the nuptial

,

embrace It frequently happens that the orgasm is not

.

mutua l that the excitability o f one party is greater than

,

t he other I have kn own numerous insta nces where the

.

female wante d t he sexual impulse until the o zs v z r z le o f t he

‘ ’

male was exhauste d ; and als o others where the female ,

was so sensitive as to give forth a profuse mucous secre

, .

tion to the hindran c e o f the copulative power o f the mal e

, . .

Many o f these ca ses are occasion ed by the imaginati on

o f o ne part y wandering from the act enga ged in .

I have state d that many females ne ver experience the

the least delight in the sexual embrace ; and there are
many cases where t he gratification o f the ma l e is o f a
questi onable nature ; yet impregnation has followed with ,

o ut any dete rioration t o the o ffspring Women have als o .

b een known to be impregnate d unco nscious ly while asleep,

and also during i nebriation A great source o f domesti c
.

uncom fort is the want o f children There may be no im .

pediment t o the performan ce o f the ac t o f procreation ,

yet t he result may be in fec undity ; In some countries , .

barrenness affords a plea o f divorce of whi ch many men ,

avail t hemselves ; but in this co untry , infidel ity is the o nl y

g ro un d for such a proceeding .

D isq ualifica t io ns for marriag e may exist of whi ch the ,

pa rty may be ignorant A male may be c apable o f per

.
'

fb rmm g t he ge nerative ac t yet the semin al e mission shall

,
 1 62

his days No l ess strange are the ideas

. the composi' ,
of ~

ti ons of such talismans— a ce rta in hair ou t of a wo lf s

'

ta il —man s blood chemically repared—a swal lo fs heart

’

—the enchante d g irdle o f enus , etc etc e s y

y a .
, .

I do not know who that there is a h ot bath at A i x,i n

m any wherein upid once dip ed his arrows : w hi ch
,

has since a pecul iar virtue t o ma e a ll that wash i n it

'

lovers .
’

Copulati on shoul d never be an act o f e ffort To use a .

quaint but sel fish phra se ‘ it shou ld only be used when a ,

man listeth Much mischief may be done by fr uitless en

.
’

deav ers ; violent alpit a t io n s o f the heart may ensue tha t ,

shal l so quicken e circulati on of the blood and propel it ,

with such violence towards the brain as to produce apo ,

lexy I have often had the question put as to wh ich was

p . ,
.

the most fitting season fo r sexual indulgence We k now .

that man isao mn iverous and after certain in t ervals is capa

,

ble o f reperfo rm ing the repro c ea t ive act S ome hol d

‘
.

morn ing to be the most healthy time as the b ody is ren o ,

'

va ted by the night s rest but the las situde whi ch follows
’

e n cro ae hes o n the business duties o f the day and it is more ,

probable that as far as the health is concerned night is ,

preferable the quietud e and secrecy thereby a fforded a re

addit ional incent ives t o l ove and the exha ustion is repaired,

by t he severa l hours sleep that follows T o o frequent ia

’
.

dulgence in vene ral pleasu res is s trongly oppose d to the

pro c rea t io n of children Abste miousness in sexual pleas
.

ur es is a physical virtue where i ssue be desirable ; a nd

probably the period when conception is most likely to
occur is to refrain from in terco urse till a day o r t wo after
,

the female has ceas ed menstruating Women may be

‘
.

st e rile but they are rarely impotent S terility may do

, .

'pend upo n the a b sence of a uterus o f which many instan ces ,

are on rec ord It may depend upon morbid conditions o f

. .

that organ where it exist s ; such as exces sive debility, “

freq uen t floodi ngs rolaps us o r descent o f it ; aversion

,

or misp lacement o it ; from a rete ntion o f the men

 '

1 03
‘

str aal secret ion from the pres ence of l euc orrhoea or
, ,
the de bility jinduced b y a long prevalence of” that
’

- ‘ ’
.
.

dis order T o o frecp

‘

i ent ind ulgence in Cohabit a tion pro

'
.

.
,

miscuo us i ntercourse & c as with those unfortunates , .

who gain their sub sist mce by such means ,are direct c auses"
, ,

o f in fecund i ty It may readi l y b e supposed that I amthe

“ ‘
.

reperto ri u m o f numerous inquiries as to personal eligi bility "

'

and th at many of my friends although n o t inval ids n or of I , ,

questi on able creation are i ndeed n ovices to t he dutie s they

,

are abo ut being cal l ed up on to perform I could tell nian y .

strange i ncide n ts that were traceable to awkward ness .

,

dilfidence or positive fea r o r t o impetuosity and vi ol ence ;

, ,

from irresis tible excitement

"
.
' r

To bri g the subject to a close I may observe th at

‘

n , ,
.

al though nature has often bee n apparently thus freak some

in t he constit ution o f mankind she is amply gener ous and ,

ki ndl t o those W ho choose to study an d observe her laws

. .

She pays no disti nctio n to the p ast present , or future

'

.
,

For m an y of our i nfirm ities we have to thank those who

“
have gone before us and many are o f our own producing, .

The conjoi ned consideration ought to induce us to reflect

ho w we are justified in transferring the m to those who
follow There are seasons for all enj oyments ; and limits
.

set to all If we infringe tho se limits we are answerable

.
,

for t he consequences there is much happiness in this world ,

and much misery it is all o ne struggle for life a skilful '

pilot will see most of it an d live longest in it ,

.

T he enjoyments of wedded life no o ne but a m arried , .

co uple can k now That it is beset with disappointments ,

.

and tha t where they are encountered in the fullest ac cep

‘ ’
tati en of the word that marriage is truly miserable indeed
, ,

there cannot be the smallest doubt ; but where is the

wedded vi cti m but has to thank him or herself for too has ty
precipitation or want o f simple common caution in thei r
, ,

selection ? However to leave this part of the inquiry and , ,

carry o ut the inte ntion ust proposed let us see what has
'

b een said by those who ave gone before us .

 1 04

A ll usion has been made to the ity that some times'

ex is ts for maidens and b a n

g ; nec e ss i ty we ,

m ean in a medical point of view 1 8 i ndub i tab l e that

.

dea t h does sometimes ensue from continence y et it may

not be necessary for a damse l to wed o n the score o f grat
if ing passion a l one but the organs connected w i th t he
ayode of sexua l enjoyments require the exerc i se of their
,

function as wel l as every other structure of the b ed

,
'

T he ute rus or womb of a fe male is destined for a spec 0

'

use as well as the stomach o f an e mperor ; and i f either

,

be thwar te d in its absolute want t he economy o f human

,

life is interrupted and a disturbance according to the ini

, ,

mediate relation it bears to the human frame is establ is hed , .

Continence was no more intended fo r o ne sex than the

.

that in the year 1 41 9 Pope P ius

to the "
, fi
other O ur o ld authority (B urto r before quoted rela tes,
,

R ossa nephew
ing o f P ortugal and then elect Archbishop of
,

Lisbon being very sick at Florence hi s physicians told

, ,

him his dise ase was s uch he must either l ie with a wench,
,

marry or die
, .
 1 06

change o f structure but as many fro m t he ab use of the

,

se xual privilege and consequent depr i vat i on o f tone

,
.

Numerous instances exist of women of the town who upon ,

the abandonment o f their calling and u o n ret i ring into ,

the country o r emigrating a n d afterwar marry i ng and

, , ,

l eading temperate lives have conce i ved and brought

, .

forth healthy children .

The re are many females o f the present day marr ied of .

,

purel moral condition who o we the i r ster i le state to

y ,

physi cal and nervous debility— t he ea uses of wh i ch are

c ert a inb numerous and many u n a vmdab le
‘
b ut as man
more may be t raced to early and i mproper pract i ces y
’
,
'

have already given it as my Opinio n that those i ndulgenees

are not resorted to among females to the same ex tent as
among the opposi te sex but abler judges than myself
decide to the contrary Many o f the accidental causes of
.

debility are too profuse too frequent t o o in efli C ient and

, , ,

d ifficult menstruation leu co rrhcea and other forms of local ,

inflammation many from mental operations during c ohabi

t a t io n s uc h as fear disgust and a suppression o f the ven e
, , ,

real org asm many from too early marriages and others ,

fro m unlimited sexual indulgences ; and man y many more , ,

from precocious and pernicious enjoymen ts Were it .

possible to control the circulation o f this l ittle b o ok I ,

would desire it should o nl fall into the hands of those

who have passed the age 0 excitement and who if they , ,

have or have no t experienced the errors depicte d when

" (fo r the former title sickens on

speaking of m a nstrupa t z o ,

repetition have yet a duty to per form and an inclina

, , r

ti on so to do in watc hing over the j uni or branch es of

society and preventing i f po ss ib le at all even ts n ot eu
, ,
g

c o ura ing— habits so des tr uctive to m ora ls health and

g , ,
happine ss With this view— as prevention is better than
.

cure — the following hints ought t o be more acceptable It .

is only o f la te years that professional wri ters have turned

their attention to the education o f youth and it is muc h
regretted that the same we ll meani ng ph il osophers have
-
 1 07

been so chary in ven t uri ng upon the subject of the presen t

d isc ussion .
r
Several works have however o f l ate been written by
, ,

bold out spoken men O ne o f these persons alluding t o

, .

the arrival o f puberty, and t he appea rance of amative feel

ings observes
,
'

O f course all po ssib le eflo rts ought to be made so to

,

direct young persons that th ey may be least exp

, osed
to the evi ls that n ow beset them T o o generous diet .
’

should n o t be gi ven to young persons parti cul arly those ,

of robust habi ts .

A circum sta nc e often happens which should by all ‘

means he prevented—it is the practice which o ld bache

,

lors ofte n indulge in of romping with children irrespec

,

tive o f sex and making them ride cock horse on their

,
-

knees This is often productive o f local irritation and

.

bad consequences in after life .

Another c ustom deserving seve re reprobation is that

, ,

wh ich we frequently observe in the streets and pleasure

grounds o f cities —nurses tending young ch ildren with ,

their hands manipulating and toying under the little one s ’

garments Ignorant mothers know n ot how debasing are

.

those habits which they first teach by tickling It is a .

variety of this leading only t o degrading sensuality

, ,

which the O riental nations practice termed shampooing ,

a kind o f kneading of the naked body after bathing It .

is performed by the soft nimble fingers o f females skilled

, ,

in the operation and which leaves those who indulge i n it

,

in a state o f voluptuous prostration Among the R omans .

o f the Lower E mpire women after emerging from the

, ,

bath were shampoo ed by beautiful slaves to produce by

, , ,

mea ns o f the sympat hy between the organs o f the ski n

and the organs of procreation sexual excitement ,
.

In conclusion , l et me press upon the reader un fo rtu ,

mate l y addicte d to the v ile pract ice o f self pollution the -

,

certa in the inevitable consequences The roses fade from

,
.

the cheeks the face assumes the appea rance of faintness

 1 08

and weariness ; the skin becom es rough the eyes lose ,

their l ustre and a livid circle surrounds them ; the lips

,

become colorl ess ; the features sink down and l ose their
na tural exp ression whil e the whole bodil and men tal
,

organi tion becomes disordere d and enfeeb ed .

Fortunately these evils deplorable as they are are

, , ,

n o t beyond the reach o f cure

— A prompt abandonment
o f the cause atte ntion t o dres s diet manners and
, , , ,

thoughts Without desiring to hold out hop es t o deceive

.

the sanguine it is my conviction founded o n experience

, , ,

that sk i ll and care may produce much in the resto ration

to comparative i f no t perfect health and conducing to
, ,

an aptitude to fulfil the proper ends o f sexual c ommerce

—a p ure , se nd vigorous and abundant o ffs pring
p , .